Let Me Down
by thehonorarycompanion
Summary: Emma just wanted to have a normal sleepover with her best friend, despite the terrifying crack in the wall, but then a blue box crashed in the garden. A man was inside, a man who ate strange food, fixed the crack, and offered to take them time travelling with him in just five minutes. He never showed and Emma gave up hope. Until he came back. Follows series five. Maybe 11/OC.
1. Santa Answers Prayers

**A/N - I really wanted to write a fic with the series. If you all like it, I might make Emma go back in time at some point and travel with Ten**

**I mean what ;) Anyway, this story is actually gonna have a soundtrack. I'll have a small portion of lyrics (I KNOW YOU HATE THAT, I'M SORRY. BUT MUSIC MAKES EVERY EXPERIENCE BETTER) in the beginning of each chapter, to show you what I think went with it. Ha, I know you don't care. Oh, well. Onward!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_And how my dreams they spin me 'round  
And how my dreams they let me down  
And how my thoughts they spin me 'round  
And how my thoughts they let me down_

* * *

"Amelia, I didn't come here to pray to Santa Claus! He doesn't even exi- ow! You just _pinched_ me!"

"I know." Amelia glared at her friend, kneeling by the bed and folding her hands in front of her. "Besides, I'm running out of ways to get rid of that awful crack! Santa might be able to help, we just have to ask."

Emma's face went a bit pale at the mention of the crack and she kneeled as well. "Okay, so how do we go about this, then?"

Amelia shut her eyes. "Dear Santa, thank you for the dolls and the pencils and the fish. It's Easter now, so I hope I didn't wake you." She cracked one eye open and elbowed Emma in the side, ignoring her groan.

"Right. Thank you for the bicycle, although I fell off and scraped my-" Another jab to the side made her shut up. "Sorry! Santa, it's an emergency. See, there's a crack in her wall!" The two girls looked over at the crack, both of them cringing. "Her aunt and my mum say it's just an ordinary crack, but we know it's not. There are voices."

"So please, please, could you send someone to fix it? Or a policeman, or-" A crash sounded from outside and they exchanged a look. "Back in a moment." Amelia was the first to the window and Emma was close behind, snatching a torch from the nightstand. In the garden, crushing the shed, was a blue box; there was smoke rising from it. Amelia looked up. "Thank you, Santa." She darted out of the room at lightning speed.

"Oi, wait up!" Emma ran out after her, skidding down the hallway and catching up just to see her putting on her coat and boots. "What are you doing? I don't think Santa would send us a blue box!"

"Why wouldn't he?"

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth, but stopped. Somehow, that was a good enough point. "Alright, but if it's an alien, or a robber..." She left her sentence hanging as she shoved on her trainers. The girls headed out to the garden, Emma using the light of the torch to guide them towards the blue box. She shined the light on the side of it to read the words at the top. "Police box? That's-" She stumbled back with a quiet scream as what looked to be doors opened up and a grappling hook was thrown out. They watched with bated breath as one hand came up, then another, and finally a man's head.

"Can I have an apple?" That wasn't what either of them were expecting him to say. "All I can think about — apples. Maybe I'm having a craving. That's new — never had cravings before." He pulled himself up and straddled the edge of the box, looking down into it. "Whoa! Look at that!"

Amelia was the first to speak. "Are you okay?" She eyed the man, who had pulled up his other leg so he was sitting on the edge.

"Just had a fall. All the way down there, right to the library. Hell of a climb back up."

Though she seemed to be warming up to him rather quickly, Emma was not. "You're soaking wet." She pointed out, a bit of anger in her tone. His gaze snapped to her, surprise on his face at how much of an attitude she had for just being a child.

"I was in the swimming pool."

"You said you were in the library."

"So was the swimming pool."

"Are you a policeman?" Amelia quickly interrupted them, not wanting them to start an argument.

"Why?" The man narrowed his eyes. "Did you call a policeman?"

"Did you come about the crack in my wall?"

"What cra-" He suddenly let out a yell as he tumbled right off the box and to the ground.

"Are you alright, Mister?"

He pushed up to his knees. "No, I'm fine, it's okay. This is all perfectly norm-" He flinched before he leaned his head back, coughing out a stream of gold dust. Amelia looked confused, Emma looked horrified.

"I hope you weren't going to say _normal_, because that, Sir, is not normal!" She looked to her friend, gesturing to the man. "I told you, Santa didn't send him! He's some sort of alien!" All she got in response was an eye roll.

"Who are you?" Amelia asked.

He looked at his hands, gold dust riding from them. "I don't know yet. I'm still cooking. Does it scare you?"

"No." She scowled, looking him over. "It just looks a bit weird."

"No, no, no." He practically laughed. "The crack in your wall. Does it scare you?"

"Yes." Even Emma answered. No matter how weird this man may be, whether he was an alien or not, one thing would be above that. The crack in her friend's wall that scared the living daylights out of her.

He grinned and jumped up with ease. "Well, then! No time to lose! I'm the Doctor, do everything I tell you, don't ask stupid questions, and don't wander off." He turned and walked away, only to slam right into a tree and fall to the ground. The girls made their way to him, standing over him.

"You alright?"

"Early days." He furrowed his brow. "Steering's a bit off."

* * *

Emma watched the Doctor as he looked around the kitchen like it was about to explode. His eyes traveled down when Amelia approached him. "If you're a doctor, why does your box say 'police'?"

He didn't answer, just grabbed the apple from her hand and sniffed it before he took a large bite from it. He chewed for a moment and then proceeded to spit it all back out, making Amelia flinch and Emma groan. "That's disgusting. What is that?"

"An apple."

"Apples are rubbish. I hate apples."

Emma glanced at the bits of apple on the floor and then to the Doctor. "You said you loved them." She scoffed.

"No, no, I love yogurt! Yogurt's my favorite. Give me yogurt!" That had Amelia running to the fridge and pulling out a cup of yogurt. When she handed it to him, he ripped off the top and downed all its contents. He didn't even keep it in his mouth for a second before he was spitting it on the floor, earning a disgusted look from both girls. "I hate yogurt. It's just _stuff_ with bits in it."

"Amen." Emma hadn't even realized she'd said anything until the Doctor grinned at her. She blushed.

"You said it was your favorite." Poor Amelia was extremely confused.

"New mouth," he wiped off said mouth with the back of his hand. "new rules. It's like eating after cleaning your teeth, everything tastes wro-" He yelled like he had before when he fell off the box, only much louder. Amelia flinched back while he convulsed and slapped a hand to his forehead.

"What is it?" She took a step back, now seeming as wary of the man as Emma. "What's wrong with you?"

He glared at her. "Wrong with me? It's not my fault. Why can't you give me decent food? You're Scottish — fry something." As Amelia gave him a weird look and headed back over to the fridge, Emma finally recovered from actually agreeing with this strange man.

"'Melia, if your aunt finds loads of water and food on her floor, won't she be upset?" She eyed the Doctor. "He's still dripping."

"She's right, I could use a towel. Being soaking wet, no fun!" He turned to her with a smile. "Lead the way."

She briefly considered telling Amelia to come with her, but deciding to be brave and knowing deep down that this man probably wouldn't harm her, she made her way to what she knew was the linen closet. She was on the tips of her toes, grabbing a towel from a higher shelf, when he asked, "How old are you?"

"Eight." There was really no harm in telling him, she thought as she handed him the towel.

"Really?" He started to dry off his hair. "You act like you're thirty."

She raised an eyebrow. "You act like you're five." He laughed and she made her way back to the kitchen, him close behind.

"Ah!" He went over to the stove, where Amelia was cooking. "Bacon!" He rifled through drawers until he found a fork and a knife and then he ran to the table, banging the utensils on it the entire time it took for the bacon to finish. When the plate was finally placed in front of him, he quickly cut off a piece and shoved it into his mouth. He smiled at them and for a moment, they both thought he was actually going to eat it. Amelia giggled and that's when his face went sour and he pulled it out of his mouth, almost gagging. "Bacon? That's bacon?" He leaned forward. "Are you trying to poison me?"

Amelia sighed and walked over to the pantry, looking through it for a moment. She pulled out a can of beans and grabbed a pot from a cupboard. The Doctor got up when she turned on the stove and ran over, leaning over to watch her cook. "Ah, you see, beans." He stuck around for a moment before he grew impatient and headed back over to the table with Emma. She started a thumb war just so he wouldn't start playing with the silverware again. The beans were finished and he took a large forkful of them. He didn't even give the girls a glimmer of hope, running over to the sink and spitting the beans out immediately while they looked on in disgust. "Beans are evil." He looked back at them. "Bad, bad beans."

Next up was bread and butter, something that any normal person would be fine with. "Bread and butter." He smiled. "Now you're talking." Amelia slid the plate to him and he took a bite. He honestly looked like he was going to throw up and he opened his mouth to let it fall back onto the plate. "That's disgusting!" He picked up the plate and ran right out of the room. There was a crash, followed by, "And stay out!"

"I'm not sure he's going to help fix the crack." Emma moaned. "He's just gonna ruin everything and then your aunt Sharon is going to get mad and she'll tell my mum, and then we won't be allowed to have sleepovers anymore."

"I'm _sure_ he's here about the crack! And we'll clean everything up before Aunt Sharon gets back." The Doctor came back in and Amelia stood, going over to the fridge. He paced back and forth and she looked around for a food that he might actually like. "We've got some carrots."

"Carrots?" He froze. "Are you insane? No, wait, hang on!" He pulled the fridge door open wider and she stepped aside. "I know what I need. I need..." He opened the freezer. "I need...I need...fish fingers," he pulled the box and another container out. "and custard."

A few minutes later, they all sat at the table, Amy with some ice cream and the Doctor with his fish fingers and custard. Emma put a hand over her mouth as he stared at them, dipping the fish into the yellow goop and shoving it into his mouth. "That's awful." She shuddered. He gave her a smile and lifted the bowl to his lips, gulping some of the custard down. When he put it back on the table, he had a bit of a mustache from it, which he wiped away with his hand.

"Funny." Amelia said.

"Am I? Good. Funny's good. What are your names? He bit into another custard-coated fish finger.

"Amelia Pond."

"Ah, that's a brilliant name. Amelia Pond," he dragged out the 'O'. "like a name in a fairy tale." He turned to look at Emma. "What about you?"

"Emma. Not Pond. Walker."

"Emma Walker. Sounds a bit like...well, no...never mind." He cleared his throat, ignoring her offended look. "Are we in Scotland?"

Amelia sighed heavily. "No. We had to move to England. It's rubbish."

"Oi!" Now Emma's offended look was even more obvious. "If you hadn't moved to England, we never would've met!"

"Sorry."

"So what about your mum and dad, then?" He didn't see the glare he got from Emma. Sure, he had no idea that Amelia's parents were gone, but she was very protective of her friend when it came to that sort of thing. "Are they upstairs? Thought we'd have woken them by now."

"Don't have a mum and dad. Just an aunt."

He nodded, turning to Emma. "You?"

"This is her and her aunt's house, not mine."

"Oh." He turned back to Amelia. "I don't even have an aunt."

She raised her eyebrows. "You're lucky!"

"I know." They stared at each other for a moment. "So, your aunt. Where is she?" He stuck a fish finger in his mouth, pulling it out to eat off all the custard.

"She's out." That made him give her a surprised look.

"And she left you two all alone?"

"We're not _scared_."

"'Course you're not. You're not scared of anything! Box falls out of the sky, man falls out of box, man eats fish custard," he raised a fish finger before eating it. "and look at you!" His mouth was full and Emma gave him yet another disgusted look. "Just sitting there. So you know what I think?"

They shook their heads in unison before asking, "What?"

"Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall."

* * *

Emma and Amelia watched from the doorway as the Doctor walked over to the crack in the wall, running his fingers over it. "You've had some cowboys in here." He clasped his hands behind his back. "Not actual cowboys. Though, that can happen." He smiled to himself. He turned at the sound of Amelia's voice.

"I used to hate apples." She eyed the fruit in her hand. "So my mum put faces on them." She went over to him and handed him the apple.

"She sounds good, your mum." He tossed it in the air before catching it and putting it into his pocket. "I'll save it for later." He went back to looking over the crack. Emma remained watching from afar, feeling uneasy. "This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it. So here's a thing — where's the draft coming from?" He pulled his sonic out of his pocket and ran it over the crack before looking at it. "Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. You know what the crack is?"

Emma just shook her head silently, which he didn't notice, because his eyes were on Amelia instead. "What?" She asked.

"It's a crack."

Despite her fear and the sick feeling in her stomach, Emma managed a scowl. "Really? We had no idea that it was a crack!" The Doctor still ignored her, running his hands over the crack again.

"I'll tell you something funny. If you knocked this wall down, the crack would stay put, 'cause the crack isn't in the wall."

"Where is it, then?"

"Everywhere. In everything. It's a split in the skin of the world. Two parts in space and time that should never have touched, pressed together...right here in the wall of your bedroom." He pressed the side of his face against the wall. "Sometimes...can you hear-"

"Voices? Yes."

Said voice echoed in the wall and the Doctor flinched back. "Emma, give me that glass on the nightstand, would you?"

"What?" She looked at the colorful glass. "It's full of water."

"So?" He glanced over his shoulder at her, exasperated. "Pour it out."

With a sigh, she finally just gave up and tossed the water onto the floor, walking over to him and handing him the now empty cup. He pressed the open end to the wall and his ear to the other end.

"_Prisoner Zero has escaped._"

"Prisoner Zero?"

"Prisoner Zero has escaped." Amelia frowned. "That's what I heard. What does it mean?"

The Doctor didn't answer, just kept his ear to the glass as the voice repeated itself. He suddenly pulled away from the wall. "It means that, on the other side of the wall, there's a prison and they've lost a prisoner. Do you know what that means?"

"It means," Emma turned to her friend, arms crossed over her chest. "you've had a prison here all this time and you never told me? I could have died!"

"I didn't know! What does that mean, Doctor?"

"You need a better wall." He lifted up her desk. "The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert," he placed it back on the floor, away from the wall. "and it'll snap itself shut. Or..."

"What?"

He stared at them, looking nervous. "You know when grown ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?"

Amelia rolled her eyes, sighing. "Yes."

"Everything's going to be fine." He smiled. He held his hand out to them and she held on with barely any hesitation, while Emma just looked at it. "Come on." She gave a huff and grabbed onto his hand as well. With his free hand, he raised his screwdriver and used it on the crack. It quickly split open, revealing a dark room.

"_Prisoner Zero has escaped._" The Doctor took a cautious step forward, still holding onto their hands. "_Prisoner Zero has escaped._"

"Hello? Hello?" An eye suddenly appeared in the crack and he jumped back, pushing Emma and Amelia back with him.

"What's that?"

All was tense and quiet for a few seconds before a blue light shot from the eye and hit the Doctor, sending him down onto the bed. The girls watched in confusion as the crack shut again. "There. You see, told you it would close! Good as new."

"What was that thing?" Amelia stared at the wall with wide eyes.

The look on Emma's face was pretty much identical. "Was that Prisoner Zero?"

"No. I _think _that was Prisoner Zero's guard." The girls turned to him as he pulled out what, to Emma, looked like a wallet. "Whatever it was, it sent me a message." He flipped it open. "Psychic paper, takes a lovely little message. 'Prisoner Zero has escaped'." He looked up in thought. "But why tell us? Unless..."

"Unless, what?"

He stood. "Unless Prisoner Zero escaped through here. But he couldn't have. We'd know." He ran from the room and Emma and Amelia looked at each other before going after him. "It's difficult." He looked around the hallway, confused. "Brand new me, nothing works yet. But there's something I'm missing...in the corner...of my eye." Before he could think about whatever it was, there was a loud noise from outside. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" He dashed down the stairs and out the door as if his life depended on it. "I've got to get back in there! The engines are phasing, it's going to burn!" They followed him back to the garden, where he freed the grappling hook and gathered the rope up.

"But...it's just a box!" Amelia panted. "How can it have engines?"

"It's not a box." He turned to them. "It's a time machine." He disappeared around the side of said time machine.

"What?" There was complete disbelief in Emma's voice. "A real one? You've got a real time machine?"

"Not for much longer if we can't get it stabilized!" He ran back around so they could see him again. "A five minute hop into the future _should_ do it!"

"Can we come?"

"Amelia!" Emma hissed, this time elbowing her instead of the other way around. "It's probably not even a real time machine!"

He smirked at her. "It is a real time machine, actually. But no, it's not safe in here, not yet. Five minutes. Give me five minutes. I'll be right back!" He grabbed onto the edge and hopped up onto it.

"People always say that."

He paused and jumped right back down onto the ground, walking over to look Amelia in the face. "Am I people? Do I even look like people? Trust me, I'm the Doctor." He looked over at Emma with a smile. "Five minutes and I'll show you just how real that time machine is." She couldn't help but smile back as he climbed back up onto the box. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at them. He grabbed onto the rope which he'd tied around the box and gave them one last smile, jumping. "Geronimo!" The doors slammed shut and the box began to flicker in and out of sight.

"Come on, Emma! Let's pack!" Amelia grabbed Emma's wrist and dragged her back towards the house.

"What...I don't even have anything! All my stuff's at home!"

"It doesn't matter! We're going to travel through time!"

Emma couldn't help the slight giddiness she felt at that, so she helped Amelia pack quickly and raced back outside with her. They waited for five minutes. Thirty minutes. Two hours. They waited for the Doctor until Amelia fell asleep and Emma was facing the cold night alone, thinking that she should have known it was too good to be true.

* * *

**A/N - Well...what do you think? Was it okay? Should I have a chapter of Amy, Emma, and Rory dressing up? Or should I go right to the next part of The Eleventh Hour?**


	2. Through the Years

**A/N - WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME IT SAID SERIES FIVE**_**S**_**? Though, I guess I should be glad that no one reviewed saying, "There's no S at the end of five, you idiot."**

**Thank you to Connie Weasley, SiLvEr SCriPted GaLliFreYan, and DoubleHeartedHuman for reviewing! And thank you to those who favorited and followed :)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_The older I get  
Maybe I'll get over it  
It's been way too long for the times we missed  
I can't believe it still hurts like this_

* * *

"Is he ready yet?"

"No!" Emma rolled her eyes, tightening the knot of the tie around Rory's neck. "She could stand to be patient. Okay, there you are, Raggedy Doctor. Get in your time machine." She gestured to the fridge box, which was colored blue by a marker and even said 'Police Box' around the top. Rory climbed inside and pulled the "doors" closed behind him while Emma stood by the box and lowered to the floor. "Alright, we're ready!" She gently pulled down the box until it looked as if it was on top of her. "Oh. Ow. I'm a shed and I'm being crush- ouch!" She cried out when Rory pushed all his weight on the side of the box, trapping her beneath it. "Rory Williams!"

He popped his head out of the box. "Sorry, but you needed to better your acting!" He closed the box again.

"What acting? I'm a bloody shed-" She quickly stopped talking when Amy entered the room, laying back on the floor and pretending to be...well, a destroyed shed. "Amy, why can't I be me? I met the Doctor-"

"You're a shed." She snapped. "Sheds don't talk." That said, she cleared her throat and stood in front of the box. The two flaps of it flew open and Rory tumbled out, smiling up at her.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor. Can I have a pineapple?"

"Apple!" Emma hissed, trying to save him before Amy got mad. "It's apple!"

It was too late, Amy let out a frustrated sigh and ran her hands over her face. "Four years of this and you say pineapple every time!" She punched him in the arm. "It's just apple! He asked for an _apple_!"

"Can't you just make it so he asked for a pineapple?" That earned him another hit in the arm. "Okay, okay. Let's just start over!" He moved to get back into the cardboard box, but Mels suddenly somersaulted into the room, holding her hand up like a gun.

"Oh, hello, Doctor! We meet again."

"No! Mels, we've talked about the gun-"

"We've also talked about improvisation!"

"Yes, we talked about how we're not going to do it!"

Before the girls could continue, the door swung open and Sharon walked in. "Amelia, it's time for your friends to go. You have an appointment."

"Alright, Aunt Sharon." Amy sighed, gesturing for the other three to follow her downstairs. "We'll play again tomorrow, and Rory, you better say 'apple'!" She turned her glare onto Mels. "And no guns." They were at the door by the time she was finished and she opened it for them.

"Bye, Amy!" Rory gave her a goofy grin. It faded only slightly when he turned to Emma. "I'll walk you home, Em." They headed out to the street, hearing Amy's aunt say something along the lines of, 'try not to bite this one'. "See you later, Mels." The three waved to each other before heading in two opposite directions. "Oh, I forgot to get my clothes..."

"Oi, it's not like Amy's not going to force you back into this outfit again tomorrow."

* * *

Emma knocked on the door twice, not even noticing the heavy rain that was pouring down on her. The door opened to reveal Amy, who looked surprised before she smiled. "Emma! I thought your parents weren't bringing you down for another week!" Her smile faded when she saw her friend's chin quiver. "What's wrong?" The only answer she got was a sob and she quickly pulled Emma into the house. "What happened? Are you okay?" She asked a handful of other questions as she guided her to the kitchen and sat her at the table, where Rory was passed out, a forgotten textbook in front of him. She slapped the back of his head. "Rory. Tea. Now."

"Huh?" He lifted his head up lazily, blinking his eyes open. "Emma? Didn't you move to Birmingham, like, a month ago?"

"Tea!" Amy pushed him out of his seat. He became fully awake after that and ran off to heat up water. "Now, Emma, what's the matter?" She sat down. "You look absolutely awful."

She stayed quiet for a few seconds, wiping away tears as they steadily fell down her cheeks and mixed with the rain water on her face. "I can't." She hiccupped. "I can't, I can't, I _can't_." Her breathing was harsh and shaky as she gripped the table hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Through her tears, she saw Amy and Rory share a look before they turned their eyes on her, full of nothing but concern. "My dad left." She practically choked out the words, not shocked that they left her mouth feeling dry.

"What?" Amy gasped out. "What do you mean-"

"I _mean_, he packed his bags and took off in the middle of the night. He didn't even leave a Goddamn note." She dropped her head into her hands. "I don't understand, he seemed so happy..." She jumped at the sound of a slam and looked up to see Rory holding onto his fist, which he'd just hit the wall with.

"I'll kill him. I will get Mels and we'll track him down and just-"

"Rory, I really appreciate that, I do, but can we just..." She ran a trembling hand through her hair. "I don't want to think about it. I cried the entire train ride here and I just can't do it anymore. Could we maybe just have that tea?"

A little while later, when she was squished between the two on the couch and she started crying halfway through some comedy show, they didn't comment on it. But Rory moved closer to her and Amy grabbed her hand.

* * *

"I like you, Rory. A lot. I've liked you since we played Raggedy Doctor and you would crush me in that bloody cardboard box. Want to go out for dinner sometime?" Emma looked at herself in the mirror with a hopeful smile for only a second before it fell away. "God, he doesn't like me. Why would he? I'm just some little girl with daddy issues who lives an hour away from him." She didn't even flinch at her mention of her 'daddy issues'. It had been two years since he'd left and she was trying to move on. Trying. She turned at the sound of her phone vibrating on her bed. She flopped onto the bed and grabbed it, flipping it open. "Hel-"

_"There's something I have to tell you and it definitely can't wait until you get here." _Amy spoke so fast that no normal person would understand what she said, but Emma heard every word.

"What is it? Has the Raggedy Doctor finally come back?" Her joke was met with a scoff.

_"No! Okay, are you ready? Well, first of all, Rory isn't gay."_

She let out a loud laugh and pushed herself up until she was sitting upright. "Well, I knew that! Is that all? Because you were far too excited over that."

_"No, that's not all. He's...well, he's in love with me?"_

Her smile began to fade. "What?"

_"I know! I couldn't believe it, either! But he's in love with me. Rory Williams is in _love _with me!"_

"That's...that's, um...what are you going to do?"

_"Well, we're sort of having dinner tonight."_

"Oh." Tears pricked her eyes and she started playing with a loose thread on her blanket. "That is super awesome, Amy." She was really hoping that didn't sound like a lie. She was happy that her best friends would be happy, but she didn't exactly enjoy the cause of their happiness.

_"Are you alright? Oh, God, I'm an idiot! We were all supposed to go out tonight. I'm sorry-"_

"No, no, no. It's fine. I should stay home, you know? I have stuff to do."

_"Ah. What stuff?"_

"Um, things." A tear fell down her cheek and she tried not to panic, knowing she'd burst at any moment. "My mum is calling for me, I have to go. Have fun on your date, yeah?"

_"Yeah, 'course. Are you sure you're alright?"_

"I'm fine. I have to go." She snapped the phone shut and, feeling frustrated, chucked it at the wall. Satisfied by the back of it falling off and both pieces falling to the floor, she laid back on her bed and put her hands over her face. The hot tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as harsh sobs caused her body to shake.

She was starting to wish the Doctor really had finally come back, so he could just take her away from all of it.

* * *

**A/N - EMMA, DON'T WORRY, JUST WAIT TWO MORE YEARS. But no, if you were wondering the ages in this chapter...eleven when they dressed up, sixteen when her dad left, eighteen when her heart was broken into even tinier pieces. She just can't win. So, if you read my other stories, you know this is definitely AU. But anyway! More of The Eleventh Hour in the next chapter because our dear Doctor comes back ;)**


	3. Twelve Years Late, but He's Back

**A/N - You guys actually like this story and I'm so worried this chapter is going to turn you off to it :( Thank you to Connie Weasley, Little Nerdling, SiLvEr SCriPteD GaLiFreYan, 11Dr. Luv, DoctorsWife, Guest(s), Doctor'sFriend, Esther, and jhg for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_You're gone from here  
And soon you will disappear  
Fading into beautiful light  
'Cause everybody's changing  
And I don't feel right_

* * *

Emma walked into the house with a sigh. "Amy? What was so important that I had to race down here and nearly get arrested three times?" She made her way to the stairs and grabbed onto the railing. "Amy?" Hearing a conversation going on above her, she huffed and started upstairs, expecting to find Amy and Rory. She did find Amy, but instead of Rory, a very familiar man was handcuffed to the radiator. Memories flooded her mind, of a blue box crashed in her friend's garden, and a little boy dressed in clothes so similar to the torn ones that the man wore. "Oh my God." The Doctor's head snapped up and he eyed her with surprise clear on his face.

"Who are you? Are you Amelia's aunt? Did you call this...this policewoman?" He gestured to Amy.

"I-I-I-" She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. _He's back. Twelve years late, but he's back. _She opened her eyes, looking Amy over and nearly laughing when she saw her outfit. "No." She cleared her throat to stifle her giggle. "No to the last two questions." There was a giddy feeling in her stomach, one she hadn't felt since she was eight years old and had been promised to be shown how real a time machine was. She'd expected to be angry when he came back, if he ever did, but all she felt was happiness and...relief.

A frustrated look appeared on the Doctor's face and he tipped his head back, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "Then who are you?" He gave her a glare. "Where's Amelia? And Emma?" She was going to let him know that Amelia was standing in front of him in a ridiculous outfit and Emma was speaking to him, but she didn't get the chance.

"Amelia Pond and Emma Walker?" Amy asked, her eyes slightly wide.

He returned his attention to her. "Yeah. Amelia and Emma. Little Scottish girl and one with a bit of an attitude. Where are they? I promised them five minutes, but the engines were phasing. I suppose I must have gone a bit far. Has something happened to them?" The anger left his face, replaced with a concerned look.

"Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time." She lied. "Emma moved away." Half a lie, considering that while Emma did move away, she was there _now_. Said girl who moved away gave her friend a confused look, not understand why she was lying to the Doctor.

The Doctor's mouth fell open and his brow furrowed before he asked, "How long?"

"Six months." Another lie that earned another look from Emma.

"No! No!" He fell back against the radiator. "No! No, I can't be six months late, I said five minutes. I promised." He sniffed and Amy turned away, grabbing onto the little plastic radio on her vest. He leaned forward at that. "What happened to her?" He strained against the handcuffs. "What happened to Amelia Pond?"

"Sarge, it's me again, hurry it up." She said into the radio. "This guy knows something about Amelia Pond."

Growing annoyed with the fact that her friend was continually lying to the man they'd been waiting twelve years for, Emma grabbed onto her arm and dragged her into a bedroom. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Amy yanked her arm out of her grasp.

"Stopping you from this weird act you've got going on." She hissed. "What's up with you? Do you realize that's our Raggedy Doctor? He's come back-"

"Twelve years late!"

"So?" She threw her arms out, giving a laugh. "He came! Doesn't that make you happy? It makes me happy and to be honest, I'm sort of a bitch! You're less of a bitch than me, so why aren't you ecstatic?"

Amy sighed. "Emma, he came, yes. But he said five minutes and it's been twelve years. Twelve years of having only my imagination and a few psychiatrists who tried to force that away from me." She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes on the floor. "It's been difficult, you know that."

"Yeah." The events of the past twelve years of her life flashed through Emma's head and she fought back a frown, maybe even a few tears. "I know that, Amy, but he's back!" She managed a strained smile. "He's going to take us away, right? He's come to take us away."

Amy's face softened for only a moment. "No. It doesn't matter. I have grown up. He lied to us, I don't care if he's going to take us away now. When he offers, which he won't because he's not going to find out that we're us, I'll decline."

"Fine." Emma nodded. "But listen to me, if he asks who I am again, I'm telling him. Got it?" She rolled her eyes when Amy ignored her and walked out the door, but followed after to see that the Doctor was leaning back against the radiator, one leg crossed over the other.

"I need to speak to whoever lives in this house, right now." He said, watching Amy as she made her way to him and put her hands on her hips.

"I live here." She snapped.

"You're the police!"

"Yes, and this is where I live. You got a problem with that?"

He just stared at her for a moment, eyes flicking to the wall behind her and then back to her. Emma followed his gaze, looking behind her to see a door. Her breath caught in her throat. There was never a door there before, not that she remembered. "How many rooms?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"On this floor. How many rooms on this floor? Count them for me now."

"Why?"

"Because it will change your life."

Amy raised her eyebrow before answering as if it was obvious. "Five." She pointed to each door as she counted. "One, two, three, four, five."

"Six." Emma whispered, eyes still on the door. Now that she'd seen it out of the corner of her eye, it wouldn't go away. She got a confused look and a scoffed laugh from her friend.

"Six?"

"Look."

"Look where?"

"Exactly where you don't wanna look, where you never wanna look." The Doctor said quickly. "The corner of your eye. Look behind you."

Amy looked terrified, but she slowly did as he said and as Emma had done moments before. "That's..." She shook her head. "That is not possible. How is that possible?"

"There's a perception filter all 'round the door. Sensed it the last time I was here." There was anger on his face again, though it was not directed at either of them, it was directed towards himself. "Should've seen it."

"But that's a whole room. That's a whole room I've never even noticed."

"The filter stops you. Something came a while ago to hide. It's still hiding. And you _need_ to uncuff me now!"

Amy started down the hallway towards the door and Emma grabbed for her, but she slipped past her. "What are you doing?" She moved to follow her, but stopped. "Get back here and uncuff him!"

"I don't have the key." She muttered, continuing towards the door. "I lost it."

"How can you have lost it?" The Doctor yelled. "Stay away from that door! Do _not_ touch that door!" It was clear he was being ignored as she grabbed the knob of the door. "Listen to me! Do not open that-" She turned it. "Why does no one listen to me?" He looked up at Emma, exasperated. "Do I just have a face that nobody listens to?"

"Um...no?" Was that best she could offer and he leaned back against the radiator.

"Again..." He sulked for only a moment before he frantically began searching through his pockets. "My screwdriver, where is it?" He looked along the floor. "Silver thing, blue at the end. Where did it go?" His voice went comically high in his panic, but Emma chose to help him look rather than laugh at him.

_"There's nothing here!" _Amy's voice called from the room.

"Whatever's there stopped you seeing the whole room." He snapped. "What makes you think you could see it? Now, _please_, just get out!"

Emma bit her bottom lip. "Maybe you should listen to-"

_"Silver, blue at the end?"_

"My screwdriver, yeah!"

_"It's here!"_

The Doctor looked confused. "Must've rolled under the door."

_"Yeah! Must've!" _There was a pause. _"And then it must've jumped up on the table..."_

"Get out of there." He said quietly before he started yelling, straining against the handcuffs once more. "Get _out_ of there! Get out! Get out of there!" He was stretching as far as he could and Emma was afraid his arm would pop off, so she decided to go after Amy and drag her arse out of the room. She made it about half a step before the Doctor grabbed onto her wrist and yanked her around to face him. "Don't you dare go in there." They were staring each other down when they realized that all had gone silent in the room. "What is it?" He released her wrist. "What are you doing?"

_"There's nothing here, but..."_

"Corner of your eye." He murmured.

_"What is it?"_

"Don't try to see it! If it knows you've seen it, it _will _kill you! Don't look at it! Do not look!"

There was a scream and the two exchanged a look before they both yelled, "Get out!"

Amy came running out of the room with the screwdriver in hand, shutting the door behind her and racing towards them. The Doctor held out his hand for his screwdriver. "Give me that!" He fumbled with it for only a second before he aimed it at the door. It flickered at first, but soon started buzzing and they heard the lock of the door click in place. He turned it towards the handcuffs around his wrist and tried to use it, only for it to flicker again. "Oh, what's the bad alien done to you?"

"Will that door hold it?" Amy asked.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, 'course." The Doctor's tone was sarcastic as he looked up at her. "It's an inter-dimensional multi-form from space — they're all _terrified_ of wood!" He was given a hard slap across the back of the head and he turned to look at Emma, his expression nothing but offended. "_Ow_! What was that for?"

She gave him a jab in the shoulder. "Sir, now is not the time to be sarcastic!" A glow caught her eye and her gaze went to the door. "What's that? What's it doing?"

"I don't know." He looked up at the door, rubbing the screwdriver to try and get it to work. "Getting dressed? Run! Just go, your backup's coming. I'll be fine."

"There is no backup." Amy admitted rather begrudginly, rolling her eyes.

The Doctor lifted his head in surprise. "I heard you on the radio." He glanced at what he didn't know was a toy attached to her vest. "You called for backup."

"I was pretending, it's a pretend radio."

"But you're a policewoman!"

"I'm a kiss-o-gram!" Amy huffed and whipped off her hat, letting her hair tumble around her face and giving the Doctor an exasperated look. She tossed the hat to the floor. He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't get the chance as the door to the room crashed to the floor. All three's attention immediately went to that, forgetting all about the argument waiting to happen. A man and a dog were standing in the doorway and they took a couple steps forward. "But it's just..." She started.

"No, it isn't." The Doctor smiled. "Look at the faces!"

Both girls did as he said, shocked and even scared to find that the growling that sounded like the dog had been coming from the man. "What?" They asked in unison.

"I'm sorry," Amy looked down at him. "but _what_?"

"It's all one creature. One creature disguised as two." He still had that small smile on his face. "Clever, old multi-form." He said it affectionately, as if he was speaking of a senile grandparent. "A bit of a rush job, though. Got the voice a bit muddled, did you?"

Emma let out a groan. "Can we not taunt it, though?"

"Mind you, where did you get the pattern from? You'd need a psychic link, a live feed. How did you fix that?" His questions only made the thing snarl and step forward, opening it's mouth to reveal long, sharp teeth, and to make an inhuman growl. Emma stumbled back into the Doctor's shoulder. "Stay, boy!" Surprisingly, it listened. "Them and me, we're safe. Want to know why?" He reached out and patted Amy's foot. "She called for backup."

"I didn't send for backup!"

Emma would have killed Amy if she wasn't scared she was about to be eaten by some man-dog hybrid with frighteningly long teeth. The Doctor seemed to be holding himself back from blowing up at her. "I know, that was a clever lie to save our lives. Right, no backup! But," he looked around for a moment, trying to think up a plan B, and he grinned when he saw Emma. "she is trained in martial arts! Kickboxing mostly, that's right. She could kick you within an inch of your life."

"Huh?" She furrowed her brow, looking at the creature, then him, and back to the creature again. "Yeah! Obviously." She gave a nervous laugh. "The kicker, that's what I am! I almost kicked my way out of the womb! I played football all through school and my nickname was...was...Kicky." She finished weakly, almost more scared by the looks Amy and the Doctor were giving her than by the creature that was just a little ways down the hall. "I'm sorry! I get really stupid when I'm under loads of pressure! Just let him eat me and save yourselves."

The Doctor's lips twitched into an amused smirk. "Okay, yeah, _no_ backup _or_ kicking!" He tore his gaze away from her to focus on the creature, his smirk disappearing. "And that's why we're safe. Alone, we're not a threat to you! If we _had _backup, then you'd have to kill us!"

_"Attention, Prisoner Zero." _A voice echoed from outside, making all the inhabitants of the room look up. _"The human residence is surrounded. Attention, Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded."_

"What's that?"

"Well, that would be backup. Okay! One more time, we do have backup and that's definitely why we're safe!"

_"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated."_

"Well, safe apart from, you know, incineration."

The creature, which Emma now assumed was Prisoner Zero, turned and stepped into another room. Now that the hallway was empty, she took a step forward. "Yeah, so, I'm not really in the mood to be incinerated." She turned around to face Amy and the Doctor. "See you around, then?" She tried to run, only for Amy to grab onto her wrist.

"If I have to get incinerated, you do, too!"

"Who made up that rule?" She cried. "The devil?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "I made up that rule!"

"...so, yes, the devil- ow!" Emma yanked her arm away, rubbing at the red spot where Amy had pinched her. "Why am I friends with you? It's _always_ trouble-"

"Run!" The Doctor had apparently gotten free while they were fighting and he jumped up, grabbing each of their wrists to push them ahead of him. "Run!" Amy yelped, but bolted down the stairs with Emma close behind and the Doctor trailing after. They all ran out the door and the latter of three shut it, using his screwdriver to lock it. "Kiss-o-gram?" He looked at Amy before hopping off of the stairs.

"Yes! A kiss-o-gram!" She ran down the steps after him. "What's going on?"

He spun back around, his face just inches from hers. "Why did you pretend to be a police woman?"

"You broke into my house! It was this or a French maid!" He'd already started running again halfway through her first sentence. "What's going on? Tell me!" By the time the two girls caught up, he was at his blue box. "Tell me!"

"An alien convict is hiding in your spare room disguised as a man and a dog, and some other aliens are about to incinerate your house. Any questions?" He turned back to the box, jamming a key into it.

"Yes!"

"Me, too." No matter which way he turned the key, the doors wouldn't unlock. "No, no, no, no! Don't do that now! It's still rebuilding, not letting us in." He pressed his cheek to the box, rubbing circles on the door with his hand." Barking sounded from one of the upstairs windows of the house as the alien in the sky repeated its message, so Amy grabbed both him and Emma and started to drag them away.

"Come on!"

While Emma was all too happy to leave, the Doctor struggled. "Hang on! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" He pulled away. "The shed!" He ran towards the shed. "I destroyed that shed last time I was here! Smashed it to bits!"

"So there's a new one!" Amy darted after her. Emma decided to hang back, knowing she'd just end up running to the exact spot she was standing in.

"Yeah, but the new one's got old! It's ten years old, at least!" He ran his finger over the wood and licked it. "Twelve years. I'm not six months late, I'm twelve years late." He approached Amy, anger clear on his face.

"He's coming-"

"You said six months. Why did you say six months?"

"We've got to go."

"Oh, Jesus Christ, people!" Emma stomped over to the two, shoving her way between them. "Prisoner Zero is roaming free and your house is about to be incinerated, right? And you two are having a bloody argument! Amy, for the love of God, you cannot lie forever." She shook her head. "Grow up and tell the truth, alright?" They both stared at her, eyes wide and mouths open.

"Lied?" The Doctor was the first to recover from being yelled at. "Lied about the fact that I've been gone for twelve years?"

"She's right, we should be focused on Prisoner Zero-"

"This matters. This is important. Why did you say six months?"

Amy finally snapped. "Well, why did you say five minutes?"

"What?" He whispered, eyes darting between her and Emma.

"Come on."

"What?"

"Come on!" She grabbed his arm.

"_What?_" They started running back through the garden, Amy dragging the Doctor while Emma ran behind them. Though, she grabbed onto the Doctor's hand when they passed by Prisoner Zero, who was barking at them from the doorway. They ran until they were on the pathway near Amy's house and they passed by a man on a bicycle, when the Doctor stopped and turned to face them. "You're Amelia."

"You're late!" She stopped only to say that before she started up the path again.

"Amelia Pond!" He chased after her. "You're the little girl!"

"I'm Amelia and you're _late_!"

He looked her over. "What happened?"

"Twelve years!"

"You hit me with a cricket bat!"

"You _what_?" Emma panted, attempting to keep up with them. She wasn't all too surprised at how far her friend had taken the little act. Amy was nothing if not...well, a bit insane.

"Twelve years!"

"A cricket bat!"

"Twelve years and four psychiatrists." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Four?"

"...I kept biting them."

"Why?" The Doctor nearly laughed and Amy huffed.

"They said you weren't real."

They finally stopped and Emma caught up, panting and bending over with her hands on her knees. "Right, I need to get into shape. Also, I'm Emma, if anybody cares."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not."

"I think I'd know." She straightened, letting out a few harsh breaths. "Emma Walker, the one with a bit of an attitude." She gave the Doctor a smirk.

"But you're so..." He sputtered, looking for the right word. "_Different_."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I grew taller, got boobs-"

"That's not what I meant." He was staring at her as if he didn't see her face and her body, but saw straight through into her soul. She began to grow nervous, wondering if he _could_ see into her soul and now knew every little thing about her. She didn't have time to dwell on it, though, as they heard the message about incineration coming from somewhere nearby. An ice cream van.

"No, no, no, come on...what?" Amy squeaked. "We're being staked out by an ice cream van?"

The Doctor ran for the van and the two girls followed after. "What's that? Why are you playing that?"

"It's supposed to be Claire De Lune." The ice cream man looked at him as if he were insane, which was honestly a good thing for the poor guy to assume.

He picked up the radio and held it to his ear, listening as the message played again. _"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat, Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incerated."_ He put the radio down and did a spin before he stepped away from the van, looking at the people around him. The message was coming from phones, MP3 players, and all sorts of other things.

"Doctor, what's happening?"

He didn't answer Amy. Instead, he ran off and jumped right over a picket fence of someone's yard. The girls exchanged a look before they bolted after him.

* * *

**A/N - This chapter was so hard to write and it's so bad. I'm sorry! But this is the version that I'm most satisfied with out of all the other ones I wrote.**


	4. Twenty Minutes to the End of the World

**A/N - I'm glad you guys didn't hate that chapter! But you might hate this one :P Thank you to SiLvEr SCriPteD GaLliFreYan, Catapult Juliet To Romeo, blackcat711, and ThatSexyAngel for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_See the world through the faintest glow  
Break apart and you're dealt the final blow  
Your eyes turn to snow  
And don't you realize it's the end of all time_

* * *

As Emma burst through the front door of the home she'd seen the Doctor run into, she didn't expect there to be a rug that had been bunched up thanks to him. Which also meant she didn't expect to trip on said bunched up rug and fall flat on her face. "For the love of..." She straightened out the rug before she pushed herself up off the floor and darted to the Doctor's side. The woman, who Emma had met a handful of times in her childhood, was flipping through the television; though, every channel was the same thing. A giant, blue eye that was repeating the message to Prisoner Zero.

"Sorry to burst in!" The Doctor told her. "We're doing a special on television faults in the area." Amy ran in and he looked her over. "Also, crimes." The woman opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't seem to find the words. "Let's have a look!" He made his way to her and snatched the remote control out of her hand.

"I was just about to phone. It's on every channel." After receiving a pat on the arm from the Doctor, she turned and noticed the two girls. "Hello, dears!" A confused look appeared on her face when she took in Amy's outfit. "Are you a policewoman now?"

She gave a tight smile at that, looking to Emma for help. Her friend only raised her hands and shook her head as if to say, 'don't bring me into this'. "Well," she looked back to the woman. "sometimes."

"I thought you were a nurse." That earned Amy a look from the Doctor, who'd torn his attention away from the remote to listen to their conversation.

"I can be a nurse."

"Or, actually, a nun?"

"I dabble!" She laughed.

Watching the exchange with an amused smile, Emma finally cut in. "Hi, Mrs. Angelo." She gave a wave and Mrs. Angelo turned to her, her confused look replaced with a smile.

"Emma, it's good to see you! You need to come 'round more, dear. You, Amy, and I can make biscuits just like we did when you were little girls!" Her smile was as warm as it had been all twenty years of Emma's life. She then remembered that the Doctor was there and her smile grew. "Emma, Amy, who's your friend?"

"Who's Amy? You were Amelia." Despite the fact that her name had been said a few times already, the Doctor obviously hadn't been paying very much attention.

"Yeah," the girl in question furrowed her brow. "and now I'm Amy."

"Amelia Pond — that was a great name."

She pursed her lips, trying to fight a smile. "Bit fairy tale."

"You change your name, too?" He nodded his head in Emma's direction.

"No."

"Oh. Shame." He ignored the way her jaw dropped, turning to Mrs. Angelo, who claimed that she knew him, that she'd seen him somewhere before. "Not me, brand new face." He opened his mouth wide to make some sort of ridiculous face. "First time on." His gaze flicked to Amy before it went back to Mrs. Angelo as he asked, "And what sort of job's a kiss-o-gram?"

"I go to parties and I kiss people." Amy admitted nervously, clearing her throat. "With outfits. It's a laugh!"

Emma rolled her eyes and made her way to the sofa, throwing herself down onto it. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, Amy; nobody laughs at mononucleosis. For Heaven's sake, you've had it twice already. Gave it to Rory both times and still made both him and me take care of you." She received a glare and smiled in retaliation.

"You were a little girl five minutes ago!"

"You're worse than my aunt!"

"I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt!" He and Amy stared each other down for a few seconds before her turned back to Mrs. Angelo, waving his screwdriver in his face. "And that is not how I'm introducing myself." He picked up a radio and used the screwdriver on it, hearing the message that had been playing in the sky. Only this time it was in different languages as he played stations from different countries. "Okay." He put the radio down. "So, it's everywhere. In every language." His eyes darted from Mrs. Angelo, to Amy, and finally to Emma. "They're broadcasting to the whole world." He ran to the window and shoved it open, sticking his head out. Two out of the other three went after him, but Emma was tired of running and couldn't bring herself to get off the couch just yet.

"What's up there?" Amy asked. "What are you looking for?"

He didn't answer, just stayed like that for a few more seconds and popped back inside, walking away from the window. "Okay, planet this size, two poles, your basic molten core...they're going to need a forty percent fission blast." A man came in the front door and he spun on his heel, marching towards him. "But they'll have to power up first, won't they?" Seeing the man was taller than him, the Doctor stood on the tips of his toes. "So, assuming a medium-sized starship, that's twenty minutes." He lowered back down. "What do you think?" He was back on his tiptoes again. "Twenty minutes? Yeah, twenty minutes." He turned to the two girls by the window. "We've got twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes to what?"

"Are you the Doctor?" The man's question made him freeze.

"He is, isn't he?" Mrs. Angelo nodded her head, grinning. "He's the Doctor! The Raggedy Doctor. All those cartoons you did when you were little!" She looked at Amy. "The Raggedy Doctor! It's him!"

"I know." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Cartoons?" The Doctor looked side-to-side before he shook his head and walked off, sitting on the couch beside Emma.

"Gran, it's him, isn't it? It's really him!"

"Oh, just piss off, Jeff!" Emma yelled and he smirked, making her let out a huff. "Do not give me that look. Amy set us up on one date last time I was here, and if I remember correctly, it ended with me throwing a dish at you." She turned to the Doctor, her tone and expression softening considerably. "Twenty minutes to what?"

His eyes were glued to the television, where the blue eye was still repeating its message. He leaned forward, folding his hands in front of him. "The human residence. They're not talking about Amy's house, they're talking about the planet. Somewhere up there, there's a spaceship and it's going to incinerate the planet." He paused. "Twenty minutes to the end of the world."

_"Repeat, Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated."_

* * *

Amy, Emma, and the Doctor hurried down the street, passing by a little boy who was playing with a toy helicopter. "What is this place? Where am I?" The Doctor asked.

"Leadworth."

He snapped his head to the side to look at Amy. "Where's the rest of it?"

"This is it."

"Is there an airport?"

"No."

"A nuclear power station."

She gave a laugh. "No."

"Even a little one."

"Nope."

"Nearest city?"

"Gloucester. Half an hour by car."

"We don't have half an hour. Do we have a car?"

"We have my car!" Emma grinned, but it soon faded. "Which is at Amy's house. Which adds about another five minutes to the trip." She bit her lip, wringing her hands anxiously. "Could we get the aliens to hold this off for another fifteen minutes?" The look she got from the Doctor told her that, no, they couldn't get the aliens to hold off for an extra fifteen minutes. "Well, I tried, sorry."

"Well, that's good!" He glared at both the girls. "Fantastic, that is. Twenty minutes to the end of the world and I've got a post office," he gestured towards the builiding. "and it's shut!" Something suddenly caught his eye. "_What_ is that?"

"It's a duck pond."

He took off running for it, hopping onto the edge of the grass around it to look into it. "Why aren't there any ducks?" He seemed rather angry about something so irrelevant, turning back to Amy and Emma.

"I don't know." Amy ran a hand through her hair. "There's never any ducks."

"Then how do you know it's a duck pond?" He was beginning to raise his voice and Emma stepped slightly between them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Alright, Doctor, I think it's time we calm down, yeah?" She smiled, despite the hint of a threat in her tone. "It's just a pond, it doesn't matter whether or not there are any du-" She yanked her hand away from him when he jerked beneath it, taking a few steps back. "What's the matter with you?"

He fell back onto the grass, clutching onto his chest. "It's too soon. I'm not ready, I'm not done yet." His hand moved to his lower back. The sky suddenly went dark and the three looked up.

"What's happening?" Amy asked. "Why's it going dark?" The sun turned grey for several seconds before it returned to almost normal, though it looked as if it were exploding. "So, what's wrong with the sun?"

"Nothing! You're looking at it through a force field. They've sealed off your upper atmosphere, now they're getting ready to boil the planet." The Doctor stood, and looked back when people came outside, raising their phones to presumably take pictures. "Oh, and here they come, the human race! The end comes, as it was always going to — down a video phone!"

Amy started shaking her head. "This isn't real, is it?" She folded her hands beneath her chin. "This is some kind of big wind-up."

"No one would take the time to plan all of this." Emma told her, just as the Doctor asked,

"Why would I wind you up?"

"You told me you had a time machine."

"And you believe me."

"Then I grew up."

"Oh, you never want to do that." He looked away, only to look right back at Amy. "No, hang on, shut up, wait! I missed it!" He smacked himself in the forehead. Amy gave him a confused albeit worried look, Emma took a step back. "I saw it and I missed it!" He smacked himself again. "What did I see? I saw...what did I see?" He went still for a few moments, deep in thought. The girls just watched and waited for whatever was about to happen. "Twenty minutes!" He spun around to face them. "I _can_ do it. Twenty minutes, the planet burns. Run to your loved ones and say goodbye, or stay and help me."

Emma didn't like the look on her friend's face. She knew that look, it was that same stubborn and angry look she had when someone told her what to do. "Amy-"

"No."

Not expecting that answer, the Doctor's eyebrows rose. "I'm sorry?"

"No!" She grabbed his tie and twisted it, dragging him towards a car that had just parked.

"Amy! No! No! What are you doing?"

She pushed him back against the car and slammed his tie in the driver's side door, grabbing the keys from the driver to push the lock button on the remote. "For God's sake, Amy!" Emma attempted to take the keys from her, but she refused to let them go. "Give me the keys!"

"No!"

"You're worse than I am, you know that?" She gave her shoulder a shove. "I get that you're angry with him and don't really believe anything he's said, and sure, I lost faith in him for a very long time and maybe, deep down, I'm as angry and confused as you are, but you're missing the bigger picture here! The world is ending in apparently twenty minutes and he's the only one who sort of knows what's going on! Let him go!" The only response she got was Amy throwing the keys into some nearby bushes. "Oh, I swear, every single time I try to make peace, you people ignore me." She hurried over to the row of bushes and skidded to a stop, gulping as she searched with her eyes for the keys. "God, please no spiders..." Eyes closed, she reached under the plant and moved her hand around. She passed over a few sticky and pointy things before she felt the cool metal of what was hopefully the key. It was, but the large, brown spider on her arm kept her from celebrating. "Of course!" She groaned, shuddering and flicking the arachnid away. She could still feel it crawling on her as she made her way back to the car. When Amy and the Doctor were back in sight, she froze. He had a hold of her wrist and in her hand was an apple. Not just any apple, but the one with a face carved into it, that she'd given to the Doctor twelve years ago. It was still fresh, like it had been five minutes and not twelve years. That's when Emma realized that for him it truly had only been five minutes. She raised the remote for the keys and pressed the unlock button.

"What do we do?" Amy pulled the door open.

"Stop that nurse." The Doctor took off running and she was close behind. Emma, though she was sick of running, left the keys on the top of the car and sprinted after them. They hopped over a chain and onto the grass, where the Doctor grabbed a phone from the nurse he was speaking of. A nurse who happened to be Rory Williams, boyfriend of Amy and best friend of Emma. "The sun's going out, and you're photographing a man and a dog. Why?"

Rory stared at him for a second, until Amy and Emma ran up and he smiled, relieved. "Amy! Emma, I had no idea you were visiting!"

"Hi." Amy gasped out, grabbing onto his arm and turning towards the Doctor. "Oh, this is Rory, he's a...friend."

"Boyfriend." He rolled his eyes playfully, laughing.

"Kind of boyfriend."

"Amy!" Both he and Emma snapped, warning in their tones.

"Man and dog, why?"

He looked the Doctor up and down. "I don't think I know you. Are you...oh!" He turned his head to look at Emma, mouth falling open. "Is this your boyfriend?" He looked back to the Doctor. "Are you her boyfriend? Lord knows she'd pick someone like you."

Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Why? Just...what does that even mean? I just..." She finally just threw her hands in the air and snapped her mouth shut, feeling annoyed by his assumption. His first impression of the Doctor was probably that he was a nosey kleptomaniac, and he had the nerve to say that she would _pick someone like him_. The Doctor only added insult to injury as he said in a disgusted tone,

"I'm not her _boyfriend_."

"Then who..." Rory looked him over again, his eyes widening. "Oh, my God, it's him."

"Just answer his question, please." Amy sighed.

"It's him, though!" He took a step back. "Th-the Doctor. The Raggedy Doctor."

"Yeah, he came back."

"But he was a story, he was a game-"

The Doctor grabbed Rory by the front of his jacket, lifting him right off of his feet and bringing their faces inches apart. "Man and dog, why? Tell me." He shook him. "Now."

"Sorry! Because he can't be there. Because he's-"

"In a hospital. In a coma." They finished together.

Rory nodded. "Yeah."

"Knew it. Multi-form, you see." The Doctor released him, slapping his shoulders before starting to straighten his jacket. "Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a live feed, a psychic link with a living, but _dormant_," he poked him hard in the forehead. "mind." A loud bark had the four of them spinning around to see Prisoner Zero. The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets, taking a few steps closer while Amy took one and stopped. Despite being a bit upset with him, Emma gave a poor, confused Rory a pat on the shoulder. It may have been a bit harder than necessary, but it was still reassuring. "Prisoner Zero."

"What?" Rory turned to face Emma. "There's a Prisoner Zero, too?"

"Yes. Doctor, Prisoner, blue box, all of it." She shrugged, raising an eyebrow at him. "I know it's a bit weird, but at least try to keep up and get used to it, Rory." There was a buzzing noise and she looked back to see that the giant eye was in the sky now, seeming to scan the earth. "Oh. That can't be too good."

The Doctor slipped his screwdriver out of his pocket. "See, that ship up there is scanning this area for non-terrestrial technology. And _nothing _says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver." With an eerily wide smile, he pushed the button on it and lifted it as high as he could above his head. Bulbs in streetlamps burst and cars started honking and wiping their windshields. Somewhere, a woman screamed. Amy and Rory looked at each other and laughed as a fire truck drove by on its own. Emma just sort of stood there, freaked out by all the screwdriver was doing, and by the fact that all of it was going to attract that stupid spaceship. "I don't someone's gonna notice." The Doctor said. "Don't you?" He pointed the screwdriver towards a phone booth and it exploded, quickly followed by the device that made it do so. He flinched and let the screwdriver fall to the ground. "No!" He crouched to the ground, picking it up even though it was charred and smoking. "No, no, don't do that!" He threw it back down and stood, turning back to look at the ship. It was flying back up into the sky. "No! Come back!" He threw his arms out. "He's here! Come back! He's here! Prisoner Zero is here! Come back! He's here! Prisoner Zero is..." He let his arms fall. "Here."

"Doctor!" Amy grabbed onto his arm. "The drain! It just sort of melted and went down the drain."

"Well, of course it did." He stated it as if it were completely obvious and Emma, now snapped out of her terror since the ship was gone, fought the urge to hit him.

"What do we do now? Climb into the bloody sewer and drag him out, or what? I'm about five seconds from reverting to my Kicky days and kicking his alien arse." She got a confused look from Rory and glares from Amy and the Doctor. "What? Okay, so I never took kickboxing and my nickname wasn't Kicky in school, but with enough adrenaline pumping through me, I'm eighty percent sure that I could take him!"

The Doctor just blinked at her. "Right. Prisoner Zero is hiding in human form, we need to drive it into the open. No TARDIS, no screwdriver, seventeen minutes. Come on, think. Think!" While he thought, Amy, Rory, and Emma headed over to the drain.

"So that thing, _that _hid in my house for twelve years?" Amy asked when the Doctor finally joined them by the drain.

"Multi-forms can live for millennia." He answered her, though he still seemed to be thinking of what to do. "Twelve years is a pit stop."

"So how come you show up again on the very same day that lot do? The same minute?"

"They're looking for him, but followed me. They saw me through the crack, got a fix. They're only late 'cause I am." He barely gave Rory a chance to ask what he was talking about, holding out his hand. "Nurse Boy, give me your phone."

"How can he be real? He was never real."

"Phone, now, give me."

Rory handed him the phone, not even caring. "He was just a game. We were kids. You made me dress up as him. Emma was a shed!" His eyes went wide and he turned to her. "God, you're not going to turn into a shed, are you?"

"Not to my knowledge, no." She rolled her eyes. "And we talked about this, Rory. It's weird, but you gotta get used to it."

"These photos," The Doctor went through the pictures in Rory's phone. "they're all coma patients?"

"Yep."

"No." He held a finger up. "They're all the multi-form. Eight comas, eight disguises for Prisoner Zero."

"He had a dog, though. There's a dog in a coma?" Amy's brow furrowed.

"The coma patient dreams he's walking a dog, Prisoner Zero gets a dog. Laptop!" He looked up. "Your friend, what was his name? Not him," he pointed to Rory. "the good-looking one."

"Thanks."

"Jeff."

"Oh, thanks." Rory turned away and Emma patted his shoulder again, gentler than last time.

"Don't worry, Rory. You're very attractive. Well, considering..."

"Considering what?" She'd already returned her attention to the Doctor, fighting a smile because she knew that Rory was going to wonder for weeks until he forgot. He was, of course, attractive to her. She wouldn't have liked him in the past — and possibly a bit in the present, not that she'd even admit it to herself — if he wasn't. She just got joy out of making people squirm.

"He had a laptop in his bag, a laptop. Big bag, _big_ laptop." He slapped his hands on Amy and Rory's backs. "I need Jeff's laptop. You two, get to the hospital, get everyone out, clear the whole floor. Phone us when you're done."

"Wait, us-" Emma didn't have time to finish before the Doctor was grabbing her wrist and running off, dragging her behind him. "Why am I coming with you and not them?" She yelled, struggling to get her footing.

"Because, Emma, you and me need a bit of alone time." He suddenly skidded to a stop and she bumped into his back, causing them to be alarmingly close when he spun around to face her. He held his index finger in her face. "And I did _not_ mean that the way it sounded." He was running again as quick as he had stopped, but she managed to run behind him rather than him dragging her this time. She was concerned as to why he wanted her alone — and _how_ they were going to be alone since Jeff would be there, and the world was ending in less than twenty minutes.

* * *

**A/N - I know there's not too much Emma, but that'll change! Not only will there be more of her in other episodes, but I'll have original "episodes", story arcs, etc. Sorry it had such a slow build for her! The next chapter should be the last of The Eleventh Hour.**


	5. Prisoner Zero Is Restrained

**A/N - Quite the long chapter here! Thank you to Connie Weasley, SiLvEr SCriPteD GaLliFreYan, ConfusedSoAmI, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, AvengersGirl-LokisSpy, FallenAshe, Tayla, and Guest for reviewing! And to the Guest, I am feeling much better, thank you for asking :)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_I awoke  
Only to find my lungs empty  
And through the night  
So it seems I'm not breathing  
And now my dreams are nothing like they were meant to be  
And I'm breaking down, I think I'm breaking down_

* * *

"Hello!" The Doctor burst into Jeff's bedroom, tugging Emma in with him and slamming the door shut. "Laptop, give me." He finally released her wrist and made his way over to Jeff, grabbing onto the computer.

"No, no, no, no, no, wait!" Jeff held on tight to his laptop, but the Doctor was persistent.

"It's fine!"

"Hang on!"

He leaned over to get in his face. "Give it here." He yanked the laptop out of his hands and moved to sit on the foot of the bed. The horrified look on Jeff's face had Emma wondering what exactly he had been doing before they came in, so she sat on the bed beside the Doctor. As soon as she saw what was on the screen, she groaned and slapped her hands over her eyes. The Doctor, however, stared at the screen for a few seconds. "Blimey!" He turned his head to look at Jeff over his shoulder. "Get a girlfriend, Jeff." The door suddenly opened up and Mrs. Angelo stepped inside, causing Jeff even more embarrassment.

"Gran!"

"What are you doing?"

The Doctor smiled. "Sun's gone wibbly, so right now, somewhere out there, there's going to be a big video conference call." He typed away on the keyboard while Emma and Jeff watched over his shoulder. "All the experts in the world panicking at once, and do you know what they need?" He looked up at Mrs. Angelo, his smile widening. "Me." His eyes went back to the computer screen. "Ah, and here they all are. All the big boys. NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Centre, Patrick Moore."

"I like Patrick Moore!" Mrs. Angelo grinned.

"I'll get you his number, but watch him, he's a devil."

Jeff leaned forward to get a better look at the screen, shaking his head. "You can't just hack in on a call like that."

"Can't I?"

"No." Emma told him, unable to keep herself from agreeing with Jeff. He ignored her and pulled out his psychic paper, holding it up to the webcam.

_"Who are you?" _One of the men asked. _"This is a secure call. What are you doing?"_

"Hello. I know, you should switch me off." The Doctor held his hands up. "But before you do, watch this." He began typing again. "Fermat's Theorem, the proof, and I mean the real one, never seen before." He didn't notice the look that the other three occupants in the room shared. "Poor old Fermat, got killed in a duel before he could write it down." He looked up, eyes connecting with Mrs. Angelo's. "My fault, I slept in. Oh and here's an oldie but a goodie — why electrons have mass. And a personal favorite of mine, faster-than-light travel with two diagrams and a joke!"

Emma's eyes darted over the screen. "What are you even doing?"

"Look at your screens." He said to the men and women on the conference call. "Whoever I am, I'm a genius. Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas, pay attention." He slipped Rory's phone out of his pocket, typing just as quickly on that as he had been on the laptop. As he did that, he picked up the computer and moved to the desk off to the side of the room. Emma and Jeff looked at each other before rushing after him.

_"Sir, what are you doing?"_

"I'm writing a computer virus." He didn't even look away from the phone. "Very clever, super fast, and a tiny bit alive, but don't let on. And why am I writing it on a phone?" He turned to Emma. "Never mind, you'll find out." He quickly turned his attention back to the call. "Okay, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, radar dish — whatever you've got. Any questions?"

_"Who are your lady friends?" _Patrick Moore asked and Emma tried not to cringe.

"Patrick, behave!" He gave Jeff a look as if to ask, 'can you believe him?'

_"What does this virus do?"_

"It's a reset command, that's all. It resest counters, it gets in the wifi and resets every counter it can find. Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time. But, yeah, I could be lying, why should you trust me? I'll let my best man explain." He stopped talking and all was silent before he leaned over and whispered, "Jeff, you're my best man."

"Your what?"

He shut the computer most of the way, turning and placing his hand on Jeff's shoulder. "Listen to me. In ten minutes, you're going to be a legend. In ten minutes, everyone on that screen is going to be offering you any job you want. But first, you have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working. This is it, Jeff. Right here, right now. This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world."

Jeff kept quiet for a minute, thinking it over. "Why me?"

"It's your bedroom. Now, go, go, go. Come on, Emma!" He jumped out of his seat and ran for the door. Emma got up, but paused and turned to look at Jeff.

"Good luck. Don't screw it up?" She waited for his nod before she went after the Doctor, who happened to pop back into the room as soon as she'd opened the door.

"Oh, and delete your internet history." He slipped his hand into Emma's and pulled her out the door before Jeff could say anything. They ran outside, feet pounding down the path that lead from the house to the street. He looked around for just a moment. "You said you have a car."

"Yeah." She panted.

"Does it have a ladder?"

She furrowed her brow, hesitating before slowly shaking her head. "No..."

"Then come on!" He dragged her off in another direction and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she spotted exactly what he was heading for.

"A fire engine? What on..." She looked from him, to the truck, and back again. "You're not stealing a fire engine! Have you ever even driven one of these?"

"Sure, sure, loads of times! Get in."

She huffed, but opened up the door and pulled herself inside as he did the same on the opposite side of the truck. He didn't hesitate to push the starter button and slam his foot down onto the accelator pedal, sending the truck down the street as fast as he could. That caused Emma to end up pressed painfully against the door. "Good Lord, slow down!"

"No time." As they sped down the street, his gaze would continually switch from her to the windshield. "So, about our alone time."

"Yes?" She glared at him, rubbing her arm.

"We're alone."

"I can see that."

"You've changed."

That caught her off guard. "What? Of course I've changed, it's been twelve years." She didn't mean to sound so bitter when she reminded him of that, but her tone of voice came out differently than she'd planned in her head.

"No, no!" He turned his head to look at her. "I mean, when you were eight, you acted like a thirty-year-old. Now that you're older, you act like...well, you act like you're eight! What changed?"

"I do not act like I'm eight!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "And keep your eyes on the road!"

"Well, no, of course you don't act like you're eight! I just mean that you act more like a child than you did when you _were_ a child. Amy grew up angry with me, meanwhile you're free, uncaring, accepting. I'd expect you to hate me for having been gone for so long, but you believed me, because I promised to take you away twelve years ago and now you truly want me to do it. I can see it in your eyes, Emma, you're lost." His voice softened. "What happened to you?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it-" He was interrupted by Rory's phone ringing in his lap, and Emma grabbed it before he could.

"There is no way I'm letting you talk on a mobile while driving this thing." She put it on speaker and held it between them. "Amy?"

_"Emma? We're at the hospital, but we can't get through-"_

"Look in the mirror!" He yelled, turning the steering wheel to go left.

_"Oh!" _There was some rustling and Rory's slightly muffled voice on the other end before Amy's laugh could be heard. _"Uniform! Are you on your way? You're going to need a car."_

"Don't worry. I've commandeered a vehicle." He reached up and turned on the siren, ignoring Emma's eye roll. "See you in a bit!" He snatched the phone away from her, pushing the button to end the call and turning his attention back to the road. Earlier conversation forgotten, they drove in silence for a few moments, until the phone rang again. "Ah, ah, ah!" He grabbed it before she could, holding it up to his ear. "Are you in?"

_"Yep. But so's Prisoner Zero."_

"You need to get out of there!" He paused. "Amy? Amy, what's happening?"

"Doctor?" Emma leaned over to him, grabbing onto his arm. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. Amy, talk to me!"

_"We're in the coma ward, but it's here, it's getting in."_

"Which window are you?"

_"What, sorry?"_

"Which window?"

_"Uh, first floor on the left, fourth from the end."_

The line went dead and he shoved the phone into Emma's hand, turning the truck into the parking lot of the hospital. "Oh, this is going to be fun. Emma, do me a favor and warn Amy and Rory, would you? They won't do us much good if they're hit with the ladder."

"What?" She shrieked, but fumbled for the phone and sent Amy a text that said, 'duck!' just as the Doctor crashed the ladder through one of the windows. "What did you do that for?" He didn't reply, just hopped out of the truck. She scrambled out after him and when she caught up with him, he was already on the side of the truck. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Come on, it's time to save the world." He held his hand out.

"What? No. No, I don't do heights." She shook her head and tried to step back, but he wrapped a hand around her wrist and pulled her up onto the truck, making her stumble into him. "Doctor, I'm serious-"

"No, Emma, _I'm_ serious. If I don't get up there and stop Prisoner Zero, the world ends." He turned her around to face the ladder, pushing her towards it. "I promise, I'll be right behind you to catch you if you fall."

She grabbed onto the ladder and started the climb up, mumbling to herself, "Don't catch me twelve years late."

"I heard that."

"Good!" The climb seemed to take hours, though it only took about thirty seconds, and when she finally made it to the window, she nearly collapsed with relief. Then she realized that she was still very high up and would fall, which had her tightening her grip on the ladder. "Oi, girl with acrophobia could use a bit of help!" Rory rushed to the window and grabbed her arms to pull her in, keeping his eyes on something else. When she saw the woman and two little girls, she immediately knew it was Prisoner Zero. "Ah, you again. Hello."

The Doctor jumped into the window and stepped between Amy and Rory, putting a hand on each of their backs. "Right! Hello! Are we late?" He glanced at the clock. "No, three minutes to go. So still time."

"Time for what, Time Lord?" Prisoner Zero asked, seeming rather smug for some reason. He walked over to it, matching its smug look with his own.

"Take the disguise off. They'll find you in a heartbeat. Nobody dies."

"The Atraxi will kill me this time." Its smile didn't exactly match its words. "If I am to die, let there be fire."

He laughed. "Okay. You came into this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again — just leave."

"I didn't open the crack."

"Somebody did."

"The cracks in the skin of the universe — don't you know where they came from? You don't, do you?" Its voice changed and though it was still the woman's mouth moving, it sounded like one of the little girls. "The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. Doesn't know, doesn't know!" It sang.

"Oh, God, please hit her." Emma groaned from her place with Amy and Rory.

It glared at her, its voice returning to the woman's. "The universe is cracked." It told the Doctor. "The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall."

There was a click and he looked up. "And we're off. Look at that." He pointed to the clock above the doors. "Look at that!" It read '00:00'. "Yeah, I know, just a clock, whatever. But do you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team are working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing?" He smirked. "They're spreading the word all over the world. The word is out. And do you know what the word is? The word is zero. Now, me, if I was up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd take that as a hint. And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able to track a simple, old computer to its source in, what, under a minute?" He slipped the phone out of his pocket, holding it up. "The source, by the way, is right here." A bright light appeared in the window and his smirk turned to a large grin. "Oh! And I think they just found us!"

Amy, Rory, and Emma rushed to the window and looked out to see that the light was coming from that giant eye. "Holy..."

"The Atraxi are limited. While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not me."

"Yeah, but this is the good bit. I mean, this is my favorite bit. Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you. Every form you've learned to take, right here. Oh, and being uploaded about now. And the final score is — no TARDIS, no screwdriver — two minutes to spare." He threw his arms out in some sort of triumph. "Who da man?" He got a dry look from Prisoner Zero and two embarrassed ones from Amy and Rory, while Emma just cleared her throat awkwardly. "Oh, I'm never saying that again." He said, disappointed. "Fine."

"Then I shall take a new form."

"Oh, stop it, you know you can't. Takes months to form that kind of psychic link."

"And I've had years." Prisoner Zero's body began to glow and Amy collapsed on the floor. Rory and Emma were kneeling by her within seconds.

"No!" The Doctor rushed over to them. "Amy?" He fell on his knees beside her, grabbing her face and turning her head. "You've gotta hold on. Amy! Don't sleep! You've got to stay awake, please."

Emma suddenly felt extremely lightheaded and her palms smacked against the tiled floor. "Oh, no." Her arms gave out beneath her as she passed out. The Doctor turned at the noise, eyes wide.

"No, no! Emma, you can't sleep either!" He moved towards her, but stopped when Rory said his name and slapped his shoulder. He looked up at Prisoner Zero. "Well, that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?"

"It's you."

"Me?" He glanced down at his outfit. "Is that what I look like?"

"You don't know?"

"Busy day." He stood up and walked over to Prisoner Zero. "Why me, though? You're linked with them. Why are you copying me?"

"I'm not." A child answered, an the form of little Amelia Pond stepped from behind the imitation of the Doctor. "Poor Amy Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor she knows will return to save her. What a disappointment you've been."

He stayed silent, just staring. "No, she's dreaming about me 'cause she can hear me." He turned and started to run back to Amy, but froze at the sound of another child's voice.

"And though she lost faith for quite a long time, Emma still dreams of you. Not just of you, of course. Every night, it's always a repeat of the things that might not have happened if you hadn't left. Its in her head every night, over and over. Daddy doesn't love you, Emma. The man of your dreams wants somebody else, Emma. You're not good enough, not even for the Doctor, Emma. If you had just kept your promise, maybe she wouldn't be so very _lost_-"

"Enough!" He raced to Amy and kneeled by her again, putting a hand on either side of her face. "Amy, listen. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see? Remember you went inside. I tried to stop you, but you _did_. You went in the room. You went inside. Amy...dream about what you saw."

"No." The two little girls said in unison. "No. No!" The three bodies began to glow, leaving behind Prisoner Zero's true form. The Doctor approached it again.

"Well done, Prisoner Zero. A perfect impersonation of yourself."

It started to thrash and hiss as the light from outside landed on it and a voice said, _"Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained."_

"Silence, Doctor." It stared straight at him. "Silence will fall." Was the last it said before it faded from view and the light faded with it as the Atraxi flew away. He ran over and looked out the window. When he pulled back inside, he grabbed the phone and began dialling.

"The sun, it's back to normal, right?" Rory asked. "That's...that's good, yeah? That means its over." He looked down when Amy came to. "Amy, are you okay? Are you with us?"

"What happened?"

"He did it. The Doctor did it." He turned his head to see that Emma was waking up as well and he helped both of them to sit up.

"No, I didn't."

Emma moan, rubbing her forehead. "What do you mean by that? What the heck are you doing?"

"Tracking the signal back." He glanced at Rory. "Sorry, in advance."

"About what?"

"The bill." With that, he held the phone to his ear. "Oi, I didn't say you could go! Article fifty-seven of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established, level five planet, and you were going to burn it? What? Did you think no one was watching? You lot, back here. Now!" He hung up and tossed the mobile to Rory. "Okay. Now I've done it." He walked out of the room and Amy and Emma were the first to their feet, following after him.

"Uh, did he just bring them back? Did he just save the world from aliens and then bring all the aliens back again?" Rory's questions remained unanswered as the Doctor shoved the doors open and stalked down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" Amy caught up to him and Emma wasn't too far behind, Rory running to join them.

"The roof. No, hang on." He turned and entered a changing room, looking through clothes and tossing ones that he didn't like.

"What's in here?"

"I'm saving the world — I need a decent shirt. To hell with the raggedy. Time to put on a show!" He threw several articles of clothing behind him and Rory caught every one, quite angrily.

"You just summoned aliens back to earth. Actual aliens, deadly aliens, aliens of death, and now you're taking your clothes off." It was true, the Doctor had pulled off his shirt and was working on his trousers. "Amy, he's taking his clothes off." While Amy watched appreciatively, Emma was blushing like crazy and averting her gaze, only to continually glance back at the Doctor.

"Turn your back if it embarrasses you." He yanked his trousers down and kicked them off, oblivious to the girls who were staring at him.

"Are you stealing clothes now? Those clothes belong to people, you know." Rory turned around, only looking back to ask Amy, "Are you not going to turn your back?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. "Nope."

Once the Doctor had pulled on a pair of trousers and a shirt, he hung a few ties around his neck and left the room, the other three close behind. He opened the door that lead to the roof and jogged up the stairs, looking up at the Atraxi, which was hanging overhead.

"So, this was a good idea, was it? Amy snapped. "They were leaving!"

"Leaving is good." He walked up to the Atraxi. "Never coming back is better. Come on, then! The Doctor will see you now!"

The eye flew from the ship, stopping just in front of the Doctor and looked him over. Rory pointed in disgust and possibly fear, exchanging a look with Amy. The eye scanned the Doctor. "You are not of this world."

He pulled the braces of his trousers onto his shoulders. "No, but I've put a lot of work into it." He grabbed one of the ties, examining it. "I don't know." He held it up for the Atraxi to see. "What do you think?" He whipped one of the ties off of his neck.

"Is this world important?"

"Important?" He balled the tie up. "What's the mean, important?" He threw it over his shoulder and Emma tried to catch it, but it slapped out of her hand and Rory caught it instead. "Six billion people live here. Is that important? Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi?" He threw another tie and this one landed on Amy's shoulder, who took it off and handed it to Rory. "Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. _Is_ this world a threat?"

A hologram appeared in front of the eye, at first just a picture of earth, then it showed various events in history. "No." It almost sounded ashamed.

"Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?" He pulled the last tie from around his neck.

"No."

"Okay. One more. Just one." He straightened his collar. "Is this world protected?" The projection showed different species of aliens as he spoke. "Because you're not the first lot to come here." He put the fabric back around his neck and began tying it. "Oh, there have been so many! And what you've got to ask is," he folded his collar over the tie. "what happened to them?" As the projection played over what the three humans of the group didn't know were different incarnations of the Doctor, he stepped back and took a tweed jacket from Rory, shrugging it over his shoulders. Once it was on, he stepped through the hologram and smirked. "Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically...run."

There was a buzzing noise and the eye returned to its ship, flying back up into outer space, only leaving behind a gust of wind. Amy laughed and the Doctor flinched, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a glowing key. "Is that it? Is that them gone for good? Who were they?" She tore her eyes from the sky to see that the Doctor was gone. "Where..."

"Your house. Now." Emma was already halfway down the stairs. They raced out of the hospital and into Rory's car, speeding down the street as if their lives depended on it. The girls were the first out of the car, not even waiting for Rory to fully park it before they were out and running into the back garden. It was too late. That blue box from when they were kids was already flickering in and out of sight. But this time, they both knew that he would be back, much sooner than in twelve years.

* * *

_Two years later_

"I'll be coming 'round tomorrow. Yes, for a few days. Oi, watch it! I'll spend the night with you if you're lucky." Emma smiled, keeping her phone between her ear and shoulder as she reached onto a high shelf for a book. "Stop whining at me, you're always lucky!" That was when she heard it. That very familiar whirring that she last heard two years before. The book she was grabbing fell from the shelf and landed open on the floor. "Um, sweetheart, could you tell me that story later? I forgot that I left the bath on. I'll phone you later, yeah?" She slid the phone shut and shoved it into the pocket of her hoodie, rushing out of her bedroom and out the back door. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw that beautiful, blue box. She took one step towards it and the door swung open, the Doctor stepping out with a smile.

"Hello, Emma." He stumbled back with an 'oof' and a laugh when she jumped him, arms wrapping around his neck in an unexpected hug. "And what's this for?" One arm went around her waist, the other going around her shoulders to pull her closer.

"I just knew you'd come back." She pulled away. "Sorry. I'm not sure why I did that."

"Oh, don't apologize! I'm always up for a good hug. Are you ready?"

She raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking to the box and back to him. "Ready for what?"

"To travel through time and space, of course!" Seeing the nervous look that appeared on her face, his smile fell. "You were excited as a child and you seemed like you would be willing two years ago. Don't tell me that you don't want to come anymore?" There was a hint of hopefulness in his voice, begging her to say that he was just making assumptions.

"No, no. It's not that." She stepped forward and felt the phone in her pocket bump against her side. "While you were gone, I just...well..." The sad look on his face was making it hard for her to say the next words. "I have a-"

"Oi!" Amy's head popped out of the TARDIS. "Get your arse in here, Emma! You know you want to come!"

Her eyes widened. "Amy? But tomorrow is your-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She rolled her eyes, walking out of the box and linking her arm through Emma's, leading her inside. "I know, but he doesn't. Besides, he said he can drop me off before tomorrow morning, okay? It's a, you know, _time machine_."

"Sure, but don't you feel..." She trailed off, jaw dropping when she saw the interior of the box. "Oh my God." She did a quick turn to try and take in all of it. It was huge, several staircases and some sort of control panel in the middle. "This isn't possible."

"Anything's possible."

She spun around to see the Doctor leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face. "But it's just a little box! How can all this- no, you know what? I'm not going to question it. If aliens are real, so is this. Unless...this is a dream, isn't it? God, this is just a stupid dream."

"It's not a dream!" Amy scoffed. "C'mon, even I wasn't this bad when he showed up."

"So?" The Doctor bounded up the stairs, spinning before he leaned against the console. "Are you coming or is it just Amy and me? It'd be such a shame for you to miss out on all the planets, all the history you could see..."

"I want to come." The words spilled out quickly. "But I can't. You see, I have a-"

"What? Job interview? Date? You say the word and I'll drop you off right here." He walked forward until their faces were mere inches apart. "Come on, you can't tell me that this isn't a hell of a lot more exciting than whatever you have here?"

She considered it for a moment. He had a fair point, though she was perfectly content with what she had on earth at the moment. But if Amy was postponing her wedding so she could travel with the Doctor, and if she could come back anytime she wanted...

"Well, I can't let Amy have all the fun, can I?"

He let out a loud laugh and patted her on the cheek. "There's a girl!" He turned back to the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers. "Now, anywhere in time and space. Question is, where do you want to start?" As he did some sort of dance and Amy laughed at him, Emma's smile slowly fell. She was happy that she was finally leaving with the Doctor, but she had honestly found something — someone — in the past two years that made her feel good. She had a feeling that leaving to travel through space and time might mess everything up. She was pulled from her thoughts by the Doctor asking a question and as she answered, she brushed the feeling off.

Everything was going to be fine.

* * *

**A/N - Hmm, I wonder who Emma was on the phone with? It may be someone you know. And I hope you guys are wondering if that ending is like a horror movie. You know, when the character reassures another character that it's fine and nothing will happen and BOOM they're dead. You'll just have to wait and see :)**


	6. It's Britain, but Metal

**A/N - Sorry to tell you, but you won't find out who she was on the phone with for quite a bit more chapters :) Thank you to Connie Weasley, DDH, AvengersGirl-LokisSpy, Little Nerdling, TwilightEclps, Esther, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, SiLvEr SCriPteD GaLliFreYan, and Kathryne Buzolic for reviewing! You are all so adorable and sweet, oh my goodness, I can't handle it!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_Maybe you get what you wanted  
Maybe you stumbled upon it  
Everything you ever wanted  
In a permanent state_

* * *

Emma watched with a smile as Amy floated in the air, the Doctor holding onto her ankle to keep her from pulled into space. _Space_. They were honest to God in outer space. Her smile widened at the mere thought of it. "Come on, Pond!" He pulled Amy back into the ship, his arm going around her waist when her feet hit the floor. "Now do you believe me?"

She laughed. "Okay, your box _is_ a spaceship! It's really, really a spaceship. We are in space!" She yelled out to, well, space, giving a loud whoop. When she realized that, her eyes widened and she took a deep breath. "What are we breathing?"

"I've extended the air shell, we're fine." He suddenly spotted something and crouched down. "Now, that's interesting!" He ran back into the ship. "Twenty-ninth century, solar flares _roast _the earth! And the entire human race packs its bags and moves out 'til the weather improves!" He was pulling levers on the console, but he stopped to throw his hands up in the air. "Whole nations!"

_"Doctor?"_

Emma had been following the Doctor and looking over his shoulder with interest, but paused at the sound of Amy's voice. It sounded far away. She looked around the TARDIS, trying to find her friend. "Amy?"

"Migrating to the stars!"

_"Doctor?"_

"Isn't that amazing?"

"Doctor," Emma tapped him on the shoulder. "Amy's missing."

_"Doctor!"_

His head snapped up and he looked towards the doors, where Amy's calls were coming from. He ran to them and flung them opening, finding her hanging onto the top of the box, taking quick and panicked breaths. "Well, come on! I've found us a spaceship." He smiled, grabbing onto her hands and pulling her back inside. He paused before he shut the doors, turning his head to look at Emma over his shoulder. "Sure you don't want to try it out before we land?"

"Hmm, let me think." She scratched her chin. "Do I want to float in space with a man who will undoubtedly pretend to let me go just to scare me holding onto my ankle? No, thank you. I'll stay, you know, not in space."

"Fine, fine. Suit yourself." He shut the doors and jogged back over to the console, pulling up the ship on the monitor on the wall and leading the girls over to the railing. "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland — all of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and...shopping." That made Amy laugh. "Searching the stars for a new home." His voice softened and his face fell at that, subtle but obvious if anyone had been watching him.

"Can we go out and see?" Amy asked.

"'Course we can, but first, there's a thing." He made his way back to the console, Amy and Emma following after.

"A thing?"

"An important thing." He picked up a magnifying glass. "In fact, thing one," he turned back to them, holding the magnifying glass up to his eye. "we are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets." He looked to the monitor above the console, which showed a little girl crying. "Ooh! That's interesting."

"Interesting?" Emma gave him a scowl. "How is that interesting? That's awful! Who knows what's happened to her?" Her scowl formed into more of a frown as she eyed the screen.

"So, we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah? 'Cause if they see, like, a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it — they've got to keep filming and let it die." Amy watched the screen. "It's gotta be hard. I don't think I could do that. Don't you find that hard? Being all, like, detached and cold?"

The Doctor suddenly appeared on screen and Emma raised an eyebrow. "What is he doing?" It seemed he was attempting to comfort the girl, but she ran off and he looked up, staring straight at them. He made a hand motion for them to come outside. Amy smiled and ran out of the TARDIS, Emma close behind, but she yelped and stopped.

_"Welcome to London Market. You are being monitored."_

"I'm in the future." She stepped all the way outside, spinning around to take in all that was around her. "Like, hundreds of years in the future." She walked up to the Doctor. "I've been dead for centuries."

"Oh, lovely." He moved forwards so they were face to face. "You're a cheery one." The serious look on his face was replaced with a much happier one as he took each of them by the arm and started walking further into the city. "Never mind dead, look at this place. Isn't it wrong?"

"How is it wrong? Better question, why are you so happy about it being wrong?" Emma eyed him warily, finding his smile to be a bit disconcerting. She hadn't realized just how strange he was until she stepped foot into the TARDIS.

"Come on, use your eyes, notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?"

"Is it..." Amy looked around, pulling away from the Doctor when she saw a rickshaw. "The bicycles? Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles."

"Says the girl in the nightie."

"Oh, my God." She looked down at her outfit. "I'm in my nightie."

He chuckled. "Now, come on, look around you. Actually look."

_"London Market is a crime-free zone."_

"Life on a giant starship, back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives lead in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state. Excuse me." He ran over to a table where a couple was seated and grabbed a glass of water, staring at it before crouching down and placing it on the ground. "Sorry." He said to the couple, lifting the glass back onto the table. "Checking all the water in this area." He straightened back to his full height and leaned over to the woman. "There's an escaped fish." He tapped the side of his nose and went back to Amy and Emma. "Where was I?"

"Why did you just do that with the water?"

"Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track."

"Do all the voices in your head speak all at once?" It was meant to be a joke, but Emma's jaw droppe open when the Doctor replied,

"Sometimes, yes. Now," he shut his eyes in thought. "police state. Do you see it yet?"

"Where?" Amy looked around, but wasn't quite sure what he was talking about.

He suddenly snapped his fingers and pointed to the crying girl from before, who was now seated on a bench, still crying. "There." He started towards the girl and while Amy stayed back for a moment, Emma was quick to run after him.

"You're gonna scare her off again!" Thankfully, rather than going up to the girl again, he sat a few benches away from her. Emma slid in beside him and Amy joined on the other side of him. "Why are you so fixated on this girl? She's crying, yeah, but it's not our business."

He leaning forward, elbows on his knees and hands folded beneath his chin. "Crying silently. I mean, children cry 'cause they want attention." He sat back. "'Cause they're hurt or afraid. When they cry silently it's 'cause they just can't stop. Any parent knows that."

"Are you a parent?" Amy's question made the Doctor freeze, looking at her silently for a moment.

"Hundreds of parents walking past this spot and not one of them's asked what's wrong, which _means_..." He moved on, clearly not wanting to answer the question. "They already know, and it's something they don't talk about. Secrets. They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows — whatever they're afraid of — it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state." As he finished, the little girl got up and ran off.

"Where'd she go?"

"Deck two-oh-seven, Apple Sesame block, Dwelling fifty-four-A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner. Oh," he reached into his jacket. "this fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her." He handed Amy some sort of ID badge.

"Accidentally?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

He smirked. "Took me four goes. Ask her about those things, the smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."

"But...they're just things."

He looked at Amy as if she was stupid. "They're clean. Everything else here is battered and filthy — look at this place. But no one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them. Look, ask Mandy, 'Why are people scared of the things in the booths?'."

"No. Hang on, what do I do?" She lowered her voice to a whisper, not wanting anyone to hear her next words. "I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed!"

"It's this or Leadworth. What do you think?" He turned to fully face her, propping his elbow up on the back of the bench. "Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose?" She stared at him for a moment before getting that stubborn look on her face and turning away, making him laugh. "Gotcha!" He slipped his arm off of the bench and looked at the watch on his wrist. "Meet us back here in half an hour."

"Us? Why is it always us?" Emma asked, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm not sure whether you just like me a lot, or you think I'm incompetent and can't be out of your sight."

"Well," he shrugged. "a bit of the latter- ow!" He rubbed his arm where he had been hit, though she hadn't hit him all that hard, he was just being dramatic. "I'm starting to think how nice you were two years ago was all an act." He gave her a half-hearted glare.

"Oi, just because I hit you, it doesn't make me not nice! I'm perfectly nice most of the time, just not when people are rude to me!"

"I wasn't being rude, it was a joke-"

Amy cut in before it could turn into a full blown argument. "What are you gonna do?"

"What I always do." The Doctor imitated her grumpy tone. "Stay out of trouble." He stood up and Emma bedgrudgingly went up with him. "Badly." He added, hopping up and over the bench. She briefly considered doing the same, but realized she'd rather take the time to walk around the bench than to end up with a broken bone. They only stopped at the sound of Amy's voice.

"So is this how it works, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?"

"Yes." She and the Doctor shared a smile before they both turned in opposite directions.

"But really," Emma started. "Amy gets to go off on her own, why do I have to stay with you? It's not like I'm going to step on a bug and change the future."

He gave her a confused look. "Stepping on a bug wouldn't change the future. Well, unless it was a very important bug, like one that was going extinct. I may or may not be responsible for the extinction of the Xerces Blue butterfly..." He mumbled that bit before clearing his throat. "It's nothing against you, Emma, I promise. That's just how it happens." He stopped walking and turned to face her, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning over slightly so he could look into her eyes. "Next place or time we go, I'll let you go off on your own. Unless there's a possibility you could get killed. Then you and Amy won't leave my sight." He touched his finger to the tip of her nose, earning the smallest of smiles. "There we are! Now, come on, then. We need to go lower."

"Lower?"

"Lower."

* * *

Emma hopped down off a ladder, looking around the room. It was just a long corridor. "Why did we need to go lower again?" The Doctor didn't answer her, he crossed to the other side of the room and pressed his hands to the wall, followed by his ear.

"Can't be." He pulled back and took his screwdriver from inside his jacket, using it to scan the wall.

"Can't be what?" She noticed that he looked at the screwdriver for only a second or two before his gaze went to the floor. She followed his line of vision to see a glass of water there. "Someone had the same idea as- what on earth are you doing?" He had flopped down onto his stomach to get a closer look at the water. "That floor is filthy, I can't believe...no, no, I can believe you would do that. Get up." She reached for him, but froze when a woman wearing a mask approached them.

"The impossible truth in a glass of water." She whispered. "Not many people see it." It was said almost angrily and the Doctor jumped up, pushing Emma behind him. "But you do, don't you, Doctor?

He looked over his shoulder at Emma with a look on his face that warned her to stay back before he walked up to the woman. "You know me?"

"Keep your voice down." She hissed, looking to the side as if someone was about to jump out at her. "They're everywhere. Tell me what you see in the glass."

"Who says I see anything?"

"Don't waste time. At the marketplace, you placed a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, then came straight to the engine room. Why?"

His eyebrows rose for a moment. "No engine vibration on deck. Ship this size, engine this big, you'd feel it. The water would move. So...I thought I'd take a look." He made his way back to the wall, opening up a power box. "It doesn't make sense! These power couplings," he slammed it back shut and opened the box beside it.. "they're not connected. Look. Look, they're dummies, see?" He darted across the hallway and knocked on the wall. "And behind this wall, nothing. It's hollow. If I didn't know better, I'd say there was..."

"No engine at all." The woman finished with him.

"But it's working." He stalked back towards her. "This ship is travelling through space, I saw it."

"The impossible truth, Doctor. We're travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly."

"How?"

"I don't know. There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us, Doctor. You're our only hope. Your friend is safe, this will take you to her." She handed him some sort of device. "Now go, quickly!" She turned to walk away.

"Who are you?" She stopped and turned around. "How do I find you again?"

"I am Liz Ten. And _I_ will find _you_." There was a crash and a flashing light coming from above them, making the Doctor look up. When he looked back, Liz was gone.

"Well, that was a bit creepy. What with the mask and all." Emma made her way to his side, taking the device from him. "So, how's this supposed to help us find Amy, then? Looks a bit weird."

* * *

After the Doctor figured the device out, it lead him and Emma to a hallway where they found Mandy waiting on a bench. "Mandy, where's Amy?" The Doctor asked, and the girl pointed to a metal door across the hall. He rushed to it, looking it over for some sort of lock, but there wasn't one. That's when the door started to open and he stepped back to avoid getting hit. They could hear Amy speaking frantically, though it sounded like a recording.

_"Listen to me, this isn't a trick-"_

"Amy." He practically skipped into the doorway.

_"This is for real, you've got to find the Doctor-" _Amy pressed a button on the console in front of her, shutting the message off.

"What have you done?"

She looked up at him, then to the four monitors. "I don't know. I-I can't remember." She moved away from the chair in the room as he walked inside the room and climbed up onto it.

"Amy, are you alright?" Emma ran inside, grabbing her friend by the arms. "What happened? What was that video? It was you, wasn't it?"

"Emma, I don't _know_. I can't remember what happened, I just remember a man in a hood and he had this ring with some sort of gas in it." She shook her head. "I woke up with my hand on that button." She gestured to a button on the console that read, 'Forget'.

The Doctor, who had been using his screwdriver on the lamp above the chair, looked down at them. "Yeah, your basic memory wipe job." He slipped the screwdriver back into his jacket. "Must've erased about twenty minutes." He hopped to the floor.

"But why would I choose to forget?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"'Cause everyone does." They looked over to see that Mandy was standing in the doorway. "Everyone chooses the 'forget' button."

The Doctor made his way to her, leaning over and folding his hands behind his back. "Did you?"

"I'm not eligible to vote yet. I'm twelve. Anytime after you're sixteen, you're allowed to see the film and make your choice. And then, once every five years..."

"And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned? Democracy in action." He gave her a smile before he headed back over to the monitors.

"How do you know about this? Are you Scottish, too?"

He laughed. "Oh, I'm way worse than Scottish. I can't even see the movie. Won't play for me."

"It played for me." Amy told him, confused.

"Well, the difference being the computer doesn't accept me as human."

"Why not?" He gave her a look which basically told her that he wasn't a human. She looked shocked, walking over to him. "You look human."

"No, you look Time Lord. We came first."

"Time Lord?" Emma scoffed, joining them in front of the monitors. "You can't have some normal, alien-y name? Like Martian or something? It's gotta be _Time Lord_?" She matched his dry look with her own.

"So there are other Time Lords, yeah?"

He hesitated before turning to Amy and saying, "No. There were, but there aren't...just me now. Long story. There was a bad day. Bad stuff happened, and you know what? I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever." As he continued speaking, Emma felt her snark fading away, her chest tightening. "'Cause this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This. Hold tight. We're bringing down the government." He slammed his fist down on the 'Protest' button, the door swinging shut and leaving Mandy on the other side.

"What did you do that for?" The sympathy she'd felt moments before would have to wait for a moment because fear was coursing through her as the man in the booth spun around to reveal a terrifyingly angry face. "No, I liked the other look better! Turn back around!" The floor began to open up beneath them and the Doctor grabbed both her and Amy by their hands, pulling them back to the corner of the room. "This is _not_ how I imagined my death!"

He looked back and forth between her and Amy, a smile on his face. "Say wee!" He drew out the 'E' as if they were on some sort of ride and not about to fall down what looked like a never-ending chute. The two girls screamed and then they all fell.

* * *

**A/N - Please forgive me for how boring this chapter is, this episode is harder to work with than I thought it would be :/**


	7. And It Just Made It Kind

**A/N - I meant to get this out last night, but I had to get up super early and take care of my niece all day, so I fell asleep as soon as my head it the pillow, haha. Thank you to Connie Weasley, AvengersGirl-LokisSpy, Little Nerdling, 11Dr. Luv, Guest, Ali, skidney, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, and Tayla for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_So lock all the doors  
And put your child to rest  
There's fire in the streets now  
But it's quiet in your head_

* * *

Emma fell out of the chute with a scream, landing halfway in something that seemed very similar to soup, and halfway on the Doctor. "God, where are we? It smells awful." She sat up, letting the Doctor stand and use his screwdriver on the area around them. She heard a loud scream and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being flattened by Amy.

"High-speed air cannon." He looked back at them with a smile. "Lousy way to travel."

Amy picked up a piece of whatever she was lying in, throwing it down in disgust. "Where are we?"

"Six hundred feet down, twenty miles laterally — puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say...Lancashire. What's this, then? A cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave."

"It's a rubbish dump." She stood, throwing a bit of rubbish at the Doctor. "And it's minging!"

"Yes," he fell to his knees, picking something up and sniffing it. "but only food refuse. Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

"Why'd you sniff that? That's disgus-" Emma was on her way to the two of them when she slipped and fell face first in the mess. "Oh, God." She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, trying not to gag. "Doctor?"

"The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed." Amy didn't seem all too disgusted, sifting through the food and slime.

"But feeding what, though?"

"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy."

"Amy, please." Emma carefully rose to her feet, a hand on her stomach. There was a high-pitched noise in the distance and the Doctor jumped up, looking around. "What? What is it?"

"Uh...it's not a floor, it's a..." He shoved his screwdriver into his jacket. "So..."

"It's a what?" Amy stood.

"The next word is kind of a scary word. Take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place." He took each of their hands. His eyes widened, eyebrows drawing together when he saw Emma. "Um, you've got a bit of-"

"Rubbish all over my face?" She snapped. "Yeah, I got it, Doctor. Just say the bloody scary word. It's not as if this situation could get any worse."

"Right. Go 'omm'."

The girls looked at him as if he were insane — which wasn't exactly wrong — but complied. "Omm."

"It's a tongue."

"A tongue?" Now Amy was beginning to look freaked out.

"I was wrong." Emma gave a humorless laugh, throwing her hands into the air. "This situation can get worse. Well, _now _it can't, but it did get worse. So much worse!"

The Doctor, however, seemed excited. "A tongue. A great, big tongue."

"This is a mouth?" Amy turned, the food and whatever else making noise beneath her feet. "This whole place is a mouth? We're in a mouth!"

"Yes, yes, yes, but on the plus side, roomy."

Emma's eye twitched. When she was younger, she figured that if the Doctor came back for her, he'd take her to planets with kind aliens. He could even take her back in time to meet some of her favorite historical figures. She didn't expect to be inside a giant mouth. "Amy, I'm going to kill you for convincing me to come!" She lunged for her friend, but the Doctor grabbed her around the waist, having to keep a tight hold on her since the food and saliva made her slippery. "You best let go of me, _Time Lord_, 'cause you're next! Charming me with your stupid blue box-"

"Oi, she is not stupid!"

"-and making me think travelling with you would be fun! I'm in a _mouth_!"

"A mouth that we are _guests_ in." He held her tighter as she struggled. "Remember that, you are a guest here. Don't fight."

She huffed, slumping in his grip and grabbing onto his arm. "Fine. How do we get out?"

"How big is this beastie?" He let her go, pulling out his screwdriver again. "It's gorgeous! Blimey! If this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach." A groan sounded and he spun around, holding his hands up. "Though, not right now!"

"Doctor!" Amy yelled. "How do we get out?"

"Okay, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is..." He turned to see a mess of large, sharp teeth. "Closed for business."

"We can try, though." She started towards the teeth and that's when everything started to shake.

"No, stop! Don't move! Too late. It's started."

"What has?"

"Swallow reflex!" What with the shaking and the fact that they were on a _tongue_, they couldn't keep their balance and all three landed in a heap. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed the button on his screwdriver.

"What are you doing?" Amy gasped out.

"I'm vibrating the chemoreceptors!"

"Chemo what?" She tried to stand, only to fall back down with a scream.

"The eject button!"

"How does a mouth have an eject button?"

Emma's eyes widened and she pushed up onto her knees, grabbing onto the Doctor's arm. "You don't mean-"

"Yes, I mean..." There was the sound of retching and they looked into the back of the creature's throat to see a wave of bile coming towards them. "Right, then." He straightened his tie. "This isn't going to be big on dignity. Geronimo!"

Next thing Emma knew, she was no longer in a mouth, but on the cement ground of some part of the ship. She coughed up what she wished was water, but knew it wasn't by the taste of it, and sat up to see the Doctor examining a door. "What-"

"There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, you are covered in sick."

"Oh, that's brilliant." She stood up. "Where are we?"

"Overspill pipe, at a guess."

Amy stumbled to her feet. "Oh, God, it stinks."

"That's not the pipe."

"Oh." She hesitated briefly before smelling herself. "Whoo. Can we get out?"

"One door, one door switch, one condition. We forget everything we saw." There was a beep and a button by the door that said 'forget' lit up. "Look familiar? That's the carrot." Lights lit up at the other end of the pipe to reveal two booths. "Ooh, here's the stick! There's a creature living in the heart of this ship." The three made their way to the booths. "What's it doing here?" The heads in the booths twisted around to show frowning faces. "No, that's not going to work on me, so come on. Big, old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. Is that how it works?" The heads turned again, this time wearing the angry faces that they had when the Doctor pressed the 'protest' button. "Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving and I'm not forgetting and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues?" He raised his eyebrows. "Huh?" That's when the booths opened and the things stepped out.

"I hate you!" Emma yelled at the Doctor, taking quick steps back. She backed into someone and gasped, stepping aside just as Liz Ten raised her gun and shot both the Smilers. She twirled her gun before shoving it into its holster.

"Look who it is." The Doctor smiled. "You look a lot better without your mask."

"You must be Amy." She held out her hand for Amy to shake. "Liz. Liz Ten." They shook hands and she turned to Emma. "We didn't get a chance to talk earlier, Emma. Sorry, it was purely business." She gave her hand a quick shake as well before she wiped it on her cloak, which was completely understandable. "Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick." She walked back to the door, wrapping her arm around Mandy's shoulder and pulling her in. "You know Mandy, yeah? She's very brave."

"How did you find us?"

"I stuck my gizmo on you." She threw a device identical to the one before to the Doctor. "Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?"

"You're over sixteen, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it."

"No. Never forgot, never voted. Not technically a British subject."

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know me?"

She smiled. "You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot..." He pointed at her for a moment before deciding not to argue and ran a hand through his hair. "I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was."

"Your family?"

She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped when one of the Smilers began to move. "They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move." She and Mandy were the first out the door, while the Doctor hastily grabbed Amy and Emma and pushed them ahead of him. As they all walked through the corridor, Liz went on. "The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Tea and scones with Liz Two. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted _and_ exiled you _on the same day_. And so much for the Virgin Queen, you bad, bad boy!" At that, Amy and Emma looked at each other, both of them trying not to laugh.

"Liz Ten?"

"Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And down!" Everyone lowered to the floor as she spun around and shot two Smilers that had been following them. She laughed, but turned serious when she looked down at the Doctor. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule." She put her pistols back into the holsters and lead them down another corridor, one with a cell in it that had two worm-type things with beaks. "There's a high-speed Vator through there. Oh, yeah." She added when she saw the Doctor looking into the cage. "There's these things. Any ideas?"

"Doctor, I saw one of these up top." Amy moved to his side. "There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root."

"Exactly like a root." He looked over his screwdriver. "It's all one creature — the same one we were inside — reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."

"That's terrifying."

"What? Like an infestation?"

"No, really!" Emma's voice began to raise. "That is _terrifying_!" She received a sympathetic pat on the back from Amy.

"Someone's helping it. Feeding it. Feeding _my_ subjects to it! Come on, we've got to keep moving." Liz stormed off with Mandy and Emma running after her. Amy was about to leave, but turned back when she saw the Doctor still watching the creatures.

"Doctor?"

"Oh, Amy." He whispered. "We should never have come here."

* * *

Emma walked into Liz's bedroom, extremely grateful to not smell like sick anymore since the Queen had allowed her, Amy, and the Doctor to get cleaned up. She furrowed her brow as she heard the conversation going on. "You're fifty? There's no way that you're fifty."

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."

"Ooh, if we still talk when I'm forty, take me to get that done." She patted the Doctor's shoulder as she passed him, joining Amy and Mandy on the chaise at the foot of Liz's bed.

The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed, holding up the mask. "And you always wear this in public?"

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

"Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, 'cause it's perfectly sculpted to your face."

"Yeah," Liz furrowed her brow. "so what?"

"Oh, Liz. So everything."

The doors suddenly opened and four hooded men walked in. "What are you doing? How _dare_ you come in here." Though Liz stayed on her bed, Emma, Amy, and the Doctor approached the men.

"Ma'am," one of them started. "you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now."

An angry look appeared on Liz's face as she stood and stalked over to the man who spoke. "Why would I do that?" The man's head slowly spun to show the face of a severely angry Smiler.

"But...he was just..._why_?" Emma stepped behind the Doctor as subtly as she could, not wanting to face another of the terrifying creatures or whatever they were.

"Half Smiler, half human."

"Whatever you creatures are," Liz moved forward to get in its face. "I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?"

"The highest authority, Ma'am."

"I _am_ the highest authority!"

"Yes, Ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am."

"Where?"

"The tower, Ma'am."

* * *

The group was escorted into a large room full of high-tech machines. Amy heard some sort of banging and looked down into a grate to see more of the worm-like creatures. "Doctor, where are we?"

"The lowest point of Starship UK." He spun around, throwing his arms out. "The dungeon."

"Ma'am." A man with grey hair and glasses called out to Liz.

"Hawthorne! So this is where you hid yourself away." They walked towards each other. "I think you've got some explaining to do."

"There's children down here. What's that all about?" The Doctor asked, rubbing the head of one of the mentioned children affectionately.

"Protestors and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

Emma moved to the Doctor's side, arms crossed over her chest and giving Hawthorne the harshest glare she could manage. "And you're very sick."

"Yeah, look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it? Well, except it is, except it isn't." He walked over to join Liz by what looked to be a well of some sort, with a brain in it. "Depends on your angle." He leaned over to look down at it as Amy, Emma, and Mandy joined them.

"What's that?"

"Well, like I say, depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain centre of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly..."

"Or?"

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator. Starship UK's go-faster button."

"I don't understand."

"Don't you? Try, go on." He rounded the well to stand next to Liz. "The spaceship that could never fly, no vibration on deck. This creature — this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading...it's what you have instead of an engine." His tone turned angrier with each word. "And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving." Electricity shot down into the brain of the creature, from a maching above it. "Tell you what." He walked over to another well, pulling the grate off of it. "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing." One of the creatures shot up from the well and he stumbled back, pulling his screwdriver from his jacket. "This is the sound none of you wanted to hear." He used the screwdriver on it, letting the others hear the sound of the creature's cries.

Liz cringed, taking a step back and waving her hand in the air. "Stop it!" Once he had stopped the noise, she looked to Hawthorne. "Who did this?"

"We act on instructions from the highest authority."

"_I_ am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now. I said now!" Nobody in the room moved. "Is anybody listening to me?"

"Liz." The Doctor lifted up the porcelain mask. "Your mask."

"What about my mask?"

He tossed it to her. "Look at it. It's old. At least two hundred years old, I'd say."

"Yeah, it's an antique, so?"

"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over two hundred years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock alright, but you're not fifty. Nearer three hundred. And it's been a long, old reign."

She turned away for just a moment, disbelief and confusion on her face. "Nah, it's been ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

"Ten years. And the same ten years over and over again," he took hold of her hand, leading her over to a voting area nearly similar to the one Amy had used. "always leading you here." The buttons read 'forget' and 'abdicate'.

She turned to Hawthorne. "What have you done?"

"Only what you have ordered. We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He turned on the screen, which was fuzzy for a moment before it showed Liz Ten.

_"If you are watching this...if I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower of London." _As she watched herself on the monitor, Liz sat down. _"The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we have done to it breaks my heart. The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the 'forget' button." _Liz looked down at the button. _"Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button." _Her gaze trailed to the button that said 'abdicate'. _"Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."_

"I voted for this." Amy looked at the Doctor. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong." The look on his face darkened. "You don't ever decide what I need to know."

"I don't even remember doing it."

"But you did it, that's what counts."

"I'm...I'm sorry."

"Oh, I don't care." He turned, walking away as he told her, "When I'm done here, you're going home."

She stayed silent for a moment. "Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it." He didn't even look up at her. "Doctor!"

"Yeah, I know." I finally looked at her, a smirk on his face that aggravated Emma as she saw it. "You're only human."

"Stop it." She decided to step in and try to defend her best friend, the Doctor's anger causing her anger to surface. "You're being completely unfair to her." She paused when she noticed he was doing something on one of the machines. "What are you doing?"

He sighed. "The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."

"That would be like killing it." Amy's statement had him shutting his eyes in frustration.

"Look, three options. One: I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two: I kill everyone on this ship. Three: I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, 'cause I won't be the Doctor anymore."

"There must be something we can do," Liz said. "some other way."

"Nobody talk to me." He slammed his hands down onto the machine. "Nobody _human _has anything to say to me today!" They watched him in silence for only a moment before they walked away. But rather than retreating to the other side of the room like the others, Emma made her way around the machine and stepped between him and it, arms crossed over her chest.

"Let's pretend I'm a bloody vampire, then!"

His jaw visibly clenched. "Emma, move."

"No." She shook her head, glaring up at him and pulling herself up to her full height to try and appear intimidating. "There's got to be another option, and I'm not moving until you figure out what it is. I won't let you kill an innocent creature and destroy yourself in the process, because it's very clear that's going to happen. So," she cleared her throat, raising her chin. "start thinking."

"Don't think for one second that I won't use force."

"Do it, _Time Lord_." Next thing she knew, he had wrapped his arm around her waist and threw her right over his shoulder. That wasn't what she had been expecting. "Oi! Put me down! Doctor, I swear, if you don't put me down-" With a soft 'oof' she fell to the floor, next to where Amy and Mandy were seated, and the Doctor was already going back to what he had been doing before. "Stubborn arse." She mumbled it, but he heard her anyway.

"Stubborn woman!" He shot back. After that, the three girls watched helplessly as he prepared to turn the poor Star Whale into a vegetable. The door suddenly opened and a few children walked in, one that Mandy seemed to know.

"Timmy!" She jumped up, running to a little boy. "You made it, you're okay!" He said nothing, just stared up at her. "It's me. Mandy." Behind her back, one of the whale's feelers curled up, looking as if it was about to strike her, and Amy and Emma were quick to stand. Instead, it tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around to face it, petting it.

"What?" Emma looked to Amy as if she could answer, only to see that her friend was still staring at the children, though her eyes were empty as if she wasn't all there. "Amy? Are you alright? Amy!" She snapped her fingers in her face. "Amelia Pond-"

"Doctor, stop!" She pushed past Emma and ran to the Doctor. "Whatever you're doing, stop it now!" He didn't listen, so she went to Liz and grabbed onto her wrist. "Sorry, your Majesty, going to need a hand." She dragged her towards the voting monitor.

"Amy, no! No!" The Doctor was running for them, but Amy had already slammed the queen's hand down onto the 'abdicate' button. All was still for a moment before the whale cried out and the entire ship began to shake.

"What did you do, Amy?" Emma backed against the wall, trying to keep from ending up back on the floor.

"Nothing at all." She looked to Hawthorne. "Am I right?"

He looked back at her, surprise evident on his face. "We've _increased _speed."

"Yeah, well, you've stopped _torturing _the pilot. Gotta help." She smiled.

"It's still here?" Liz approached the well that held the whale's brain. "I don't understand."

"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it — that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead, no future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind," Amy turned to look at the Doctor. "you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

* * *

Emma made her way into the observation deck, knowing she'd find the Doctor their. She stood by him, adopting the same stance he had, back straight and arms crossed over her chest. "How are you doing, Grumpy?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, one side of his mouth twitching up into a quick smirk. They stood in silence for a few moments. "I can take you home, if that's what you want." He glanced at her again, just for a second, before his eyes went back to the stars. "Is it what you want?"

"No." She said carefully, after thinking about it. "It's not what I want."

"Really?" He didn't even bother to try and hide the shock in his voice, turning his head to look at her straight on. "But you were really, very upset about being in the Star Whale's mouth. You were going to murder me, after you were through with Amy, that is. And I sort of, you know, manhandled you...a bit."

"A bit?" She laughed. "Last time I checked, carrying someone over your shoulder is a hell of a lot more than a _bit_." Her laughter faded when she saw his face darken. "Look, I don't care. It's not as if you hurt me or scared the life out of me, you were just upset and had an outburst. It happens to the best of us, if me preparing to kill you and Amy is any proof of that."

He didn't say anything for ten or so seconds before something sparked in his eyes. "Another reason for you to go, you kept saying that you have a...well, you never got around to telling me what you have. What do you have? A puppy, or..." He trailed off at the upset look on her face. "What?"

"Do you want me to go home?" She couldn't help the way her voice shook. It wouldn't surprise her if the Doctor didn't want her around, but that didn't make it hurt any less. He was one of the kindest people — well, he was an alien, but he seemed mostly like a person — she'd ever met, so what did it say about _her _if he wanted her to leave?

"No!" He shook his head so fast it honestly seemed like it should snap off. "_No_! Don't you ever think that, _ever_. I'd just rather not have you stay with Amy and me if it makes you unhappy."

"Well, lucky for you, it doesn't make me unhappy." She poked him hard in the shoulder. "And don't _you_ ever think _that_. 'Course, being in a mouth makes me unhappy, but I highly doubt it will happen again." She gave him a wary look. "Right?"

He shrugged. "Anything's possible, but I don't think so. And if we do, I promise, you can kill me."

"I'll hold you to that promise." They shared a small smile. "About your question, the one about what I have, I don't think there's any harm in telling you, right?" She didn't give him a chance to answer, nodding to herself. "Yeah, well, a year and a half ago, me and J-"

"From her Majesty." Amy stepped up to the Doctor's side, holding out Liz's mask. "She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK." An angry look appeared on his face and he kept his arms crossed over his chest, not moving to accept the mask.

"Amy, you could have killed everyone on this ship."

Her smile fell and she replied softly, "You could have killed a Star Whale."

"And you saved it." He turned to face her. "I know, I know."

"Amazing, though, don't you think? The Star Whale. All that pain and misery...and loneliness." She looked at him through the side of her eye. "And it just made it kind."

"But you couldn't have known how it would react."

"_You _couldn't. But I've seen it before. Very old and very kind, and the very, very last. Sound a bit familiar?" They stared at each other before the Doctor smiled and pulled her in for a hug. "Hey."

"What?"

"Gotcha."

He laughed. "Gotcha."

"Alright, alright, we've thankfully made up, now-" Before Emma could finish her sentence, the two had reached out and pulled her into their hug. "Whoa, I didn't ask for this!" Despite her words, she didn't pull away, but wrapped her arms around their shoulders.

"I'm the best hugger around!" The Doctor's arm tightened around her waist. "You love it."

"Yeah." She sighed, more contentedly than angrily. "I love it."

* * *

**A/N - I GAVE YOU A HINT AS TO WHO SHE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH. And I know that that one letter isn't going to help with who you think it is, but it's not who you think it is. And I KNOW who you all think it is :P Anywho, the next few chapters will be an original "episode" that may or may not involve the Doctor pretending to be a teacher...I may do Victory of the Daleks after, but I'm not sure. I'd like Emma to know about Daleks and see his anger for them, but I'm not sure how well I can fit her in there. What do you all think? Would you like me to do Victory of the Daleks after the next "episode"?**


	8. Daleks or Ironsides?

**A/N - I lied about it being an original episode! It just wasn't coming out like I wanted it to, so I just moved onto Victory of the Daleks. And, ahem, some of you have guessed the phone person right ;) Thank you to skidney, Connie Weasley, Guest(s), Avengersgirl-LokisSpy, , SiLvEr SCriPteD GaLliFreYan, and Tayla for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

"That's Winston Churchill."

"Yes, Emma, it is."

"I'm breathing the same air as _Winston Churchill_!"

"Yes-"

Emma grabbed the front of the Doctor's jacket, tugging him down so their faces were just inches apart. "Doctor, that's _Winston Churchill_! I'm in the presence of Winston Churchill, don't you understand?"

"Emma," he laughed and attempted to pry her hands off of his jacket. "believe me, I'm glad that you're excited, but _Winston Churchill _can hear you. Sorry about her, Winston. She's usually calmer than this." At that, Emma forgot her excitement for a moment and narrowed her eyes at him, not liking the way he spoke of her like a misbehaving puppy.

"Oh, no worries, I'm flattered. I am not, however, flattered by how late you are, Doctor." Winston's attention was taken away by a woman, who handed him a clipboard and a pen.

"Requistions, sir."

"Excellent."

"Late?" The Doctor asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"I rang you a month ago." He signed the papers before handing the clipboard back to the woman.

"Really? Sorry. Sorry, it's a Type Forty TARDIS. I'm just running her in."

A sad look appeared on the woman's face and Winston took immediate notice. "Something the matter, Breen? You look a little down in the dumps."

"No, sir." She shook her head, forcing a small smile as she hugged the clipboard to her chest. "Fine, sir."

"Action this day, Breen!" He held up the pen. "Action this day!"

She nodded. "Yes, sir." She took the pen back and cast a look at Amy before she walked away from them. An officer approached them, speaking quickly.

"Excuse me, sir, got another formation coming in, Prime Minister. Stukas, by the look look of them."

"We shall go up top then, Group Captain! We'll give 'em what for!" He turned to the Doctor. "Coming, Doctor?"

"Why?"

He snatched his cane from him. "I have something to show you." He walked off, but the other three stayed behind for a moment, the Doctor turning to the girls and mouthing 'ooh'. Amy giggled, Emma just smiled and followed Winston to a lift. They all crammed inside and she somehow ended up squeezed uncomfortable between the two men, while Amy stood off to the back. The Doctor waved away some smoke that came out of Winston's cigar, causing it to go in Emma's face.

"Oh, Jesus." She coughed, waving it away herself and glaring up at him. All he had to offer was a sheepish smile. "Move." She elbowed him gently, only enough to get him out of the way so she could stumble into the back with Amy.

"We stand at a crossroads, Doctor." Winston said. "Quite alone, with our backs to the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So, I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace."

The Doctor looked back at Amy and Emma. "Such as?" The lift came to a stop and Winston opened the gate.

"Follow me." He lead them up onto the rooftop where there were plenty of sandbags and men with guns, as well as a man in a lab coat looking at the sky through binoculars. "Doctor, this is Professor Edwin Bracewell, head of our Ironsides Project."

Bracewell lowered his binoculars to wave at them. "How d'you do?" He was looking through the binoculars again as quick as he'd stopped.

"Oh, Doctor..." Amy gasped out as they looked over London. "Doctor, it's..."

"History."

"Ready, Bracewell?"

"Aye, aye, sir!" The Professor gave Winston a thumbs up as Emma, Amy, and the Doctor all turned to see what they were about to do. "On my order! Fire!" Laser beams were shot from something that they couldn't see, taking down German planes that had been flying towards them.

"What was that?" Amy asked.

"That wasn't human, that was never human technology. That sounded like...show me! Show me what that was!" The Doctor ran over and climbed up the ladder to stand next to Bracewell.

"Advance!"

"Our new secret weapon!" Winston laughed from below them.

Slowly, a Dalek rolled into view, and the Doctor watched in horror. "What are you doing here?"

"Doctor, what?" Emma eyed the thing warily, knowing that if the Doctor didn't like it, it couldn't exactly we good. "What is it?"

"_I am your soldier_." The Dalek said.

"What?"

"_I am your soldier_."

"Stop this. Stop now! You know who I am, you always know."

"_Your identity is unknown_."

Bracewell soon interrupted, stepping between it and the Doctor. "Perhaps I can clarify here, this is one of my Ironsides."

"Your _what_?" The Doctor looked at him as if he was insane.

"You will help the Allied cause in any way that you can?" Bracewell asked the Dalek, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"_Yes._"

"Until the Germans have been utterly smashed?"

"_Yes._"

"And what is your ultimate aim?"

"_To win the war!_"

* * *

The Doctor looked through the diagrams and blueprints of Daleks that were on the desk in Winston's office. "They're Daleks! They're called Daleks!"

"They're Bracewell's Ironsides, Doctor! Look! Blueprints, statistics, field-tests, photographs. He invented them!"

"Invented them? Oh," he laughed the word out humorlessly. "no, no, _no_!"

"Yes! He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fella's a genius."

"A Scottish genius, too." Amy smiled. "Maybe you should listen to-"

He shushed her angrily, holding a finger up before he looked back to Winston. "He didn't invent them. They're alien."

"Alien."

A Dalek started past the open doorway and the Doctor paused, waiting for it to pass by before he spoke again. "And totally hostile."

"Precisely!" Winston nodded. "They will win me the war." He moved a blueprint aside to reveal a poster that said 'To victory!' and had a picture of a Dalek on it.

* * *

"Why won't you listen to me? Why call me in if you won't listen to me?" The Doctor stalked down the hallway after Winston, Amy and Emma close behind.

"When I rang you a month ago, I must admit, I had my doubts. The Ironsides seemed too good to be true."

"Yes! Right! So destroy them! Exterminate them!"

"But imagine what I could do with a hundred! A thousand!"

"I am imagining." He eyed a Dalek with disgust as it passed them and he stopped outside the room that Winston had just walked into. "Emma, tell him."

Emma's eyes widened and her brows furrowed at his demand. "Uh...Daleks are...evil?" She threw her hands up at the Doctor's glare. "I'm sorry! What do you want me to say? What on earth would I know about Daleks?"

"Everything. They invaded your world, remember? Planets in the sky, you don't forget that!" Her confused look told him that she had no idea what he was talking about, so he turned to Amy. "Amy, tell me _you _remember the Daleks."

"Nope, sorry." She shook her head, giving a nervous laugh.

His eyes searched her face for a moment. "That's not possible." With that, he turned and went after Winston. Amy and Emma exchanged a look before following him. "So, they're up to something, but what is it?" A Dalek rolled by and he kept his eyes locked on it. "What are they after?"

"Well, let's just ask, shall we?" Amy started off towards the Dalek, ignoring his calls.

"Amy. Amelia!" He grabbed onto Emma's wrist when she made to follow, yanking her back to his side. "I'd rather I didn't have two of you putting yourselves in danger."

Meanwhile, Amy cleared her throat and tapped the Dalek on its side, making it swivel around to look at her. "_Can I be of assistance?_"

"Oh. Yes, yes! See, my friend," she pointed back to the Doctor. "reckons you're dangerous. That you're an alien. Is it true?"

"_I am your soldier._"

Though he kept his tight grip on Emma's wrist — despite the fact that she may or may not have been struggling a bit — the Doctor raised his other hand to bite his nails, watching the exchange as if the Dalek would pounce Amy at any moment. "Yeah. Got that bit. Love a squaddie." Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "What else, though?"

"_Please excuse me. I have duties to perform._" As it rolled away, the Doctor released Emma and made his way over to Winston.

"Winston," he tugged the cigar out of his mouth. "Winston, please."

"We are waging total war, Doctor. Day after day, the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist."

"Wait 'til the Daleks get started."

"Men, women, and children slaughtered. Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flames."

"Yeah, try the Earth in flames!"

"I weep for my country, I weep for the empire." Winston made his way around the table, the Doctor quick to follow him. "It is breaking my heart."

"But you're resisting, Winston!" The Doctor put his hands on the man's shoulders for a moment. "The whole world knows you're resisting! You're a beacon of hope."

"But for how long?" He signed some papers. "Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I use these Ironsides now!"

A Dalek rolled in, asking, "_Can I be of assistance?_" The Doctor nearly jumped and held his finger up.

"Shut it." He turned back to Winston. "Listen to me. Just listen! The Daleks have no conscience, no mercy, no pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them."

Emma, who had been following them and listening, bit her lip. "Mr. Churchill, I adore you, I really do, but he knows a lot about this. Well, from what I can tell, anyway. Maybe you should just listen to him."

"If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favorable reference to the Devil! These machines are our salvation!" A siren sounded and he gasped, placing a hand on his chest. "Oh, the all-clear. We are safe. For now." He left and the Doctor stared down a Dalek before it turned and followed the Prime Minister.

"Emma, Doctor, it's the all-clear!" Amy called out, walking over to them and pausing when she saw the look on the Doctor's face. "You okay?"

He grabbed an officer's cap, twisting it in his hands as he asked, "What does hate look like, Amy?"

"Hate?"

"It looks like a Dalek. And I'm going to prove it." He tossed the cap in the air before placing it on a desk and walking out of the room.

* * *

**A/N - My apologies for how awful this is and how little Emma is included. I told you that it would be hard to work with, didn't I? But you'll be happy to know, at the end of Victory of the Daleks, you will be finding out who Emma was on the phone with :) And there's no song at the beginning because nothing really fit? Ah, sorry again for how boring and bad it is!**


	9. TARDIS Self-Destruct

**A/N - Thank you to skidney, xxOMGgalxx, Little Nerdling, AvengersGirl-LokisSpy, Esther, ConfusedSoAmI, and Simplicity-Shitsuboku for reviewing! And you guys need to stop guessing because you keep getting it right. It's supposed to be at least sort of a surprise :P**

**Another one without a song to go with it, simply because there are none that sufficed.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

"Alright, Prof!" The Doctor stalked into Bracewell's lab, looking through things as he did. "The PM's been filling me in. Amazing things, these Ironsides of yours. Amazing. You must be very proud of them."

Bracewell looked away from whatever he was working on for a moment to smile. "Just doing my bit."

"Hmm," Amy picked up a spanner. "not bad for a Paisley boy." As she and the Professor shared a laugh, the Doctor grabbed a folder and sat in a chair to look through it while Emma sat on the arm of the chair.

"Yes, I thought I detected a familiar cadence, my dear."

"How did you do it?" The Doctor looked up from the folder. "Come up with the idea?"

"Well, how does the muse of invention come to anyone?"

His eyes widened a bit as he threw the folder down onto a desk. "But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?" He folded his hands in front of him.

"Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head! Wonderful things! Like...let me show you." Bracewell walked over to pick up a thick folder, showing it to the three as they came up behind him. "Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight." He dropped that folder to grab another one, which the Doctor immediately took from him. "Gravity bubbles that could sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere! Came to me in the bath!"

"And are these your ideas or theirs?"

Emma heard some sort of whirring and looked up to see a Dalek wheeling towards them, and she moved just a bit closer to the Doctor. It spared her the shortest of glances before it went to Bracewell, who took the cup of tea it offered. "They are...thank you." He said before he continued with whatever he was telling the Doctor. "...the perfect servant, and the perfect warrior."

"I don't know what you're up to, Professor, but whatever they've promised, you cannot trust them. Call them what you like, the Daleks are death!"

"Yes, Doctor!" They turned around to see Winston walking into the room, another Dalek behind him. "Death to our enemies! Death to the forces of darkness, and death to the Third Reich!"

"Yes, Winston, and death to everyone else, too!"

"_Would you care for some tea?_"

The Doctor immediately hit the tray that the Dalek was holding, sending it nearly across the room and making everyone jump back. "Stop this! What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"Alright, I'm not exactly the number one person on their side, but that was a bit mean. He was just offering you..." Emma trailed off, swallowing hard at the glare she was receiving from him.

"_We seek only to help you._"

"To do what?"

"_To win the war!_"

"Really?" He gave a quiet, humorless laugh. "Which war?"

"_I do not understand._"

"This war, against the Nazis, or your war? The war against the rest of the universe? The war against all life-forms that are not Dalek?"

"_I do not understand. I am your soldier._"

"Oh, yeah? Okay." He turned around and grabbed a spanner before turning back to the Dalek. "Okay, soldier, defend yourself!" That said, he hit it with the spanner.

"Doctor, what the devil?"

"_You do not require tea?_"

He didn't answer, instead continuing to hit the Dalek over and over while Bracewell turned to Winston. "Stop it! Prime Minister, please!"

"Doctor, please, these machines are precious!"

"Come on! Fight back! You want to, don't you? You know you do!"

"I must protest!"

"What are you waiting for? You hate me. You want to kill me. Well, go on! Kill me." He hit it again. "Kill me!" Amy went to stop him, but a fuming and possibly slightly scared Emma beat her to it, shoving the Doctor back.

"Doctor, stop it!"

"_Please desist from striking me. I am your soldier._"

He pushed her away none too gently and moved back to the Dalek, hitting it between each word as he screamed, "You are my enemy!" He let the spanner fall to the floor. "And I am yours! You are everything I despise. The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you time and time again, I've defeated you. I sent you back into the void! I saved the whole of reality from you! I am the Doctor! And you are the Daleks!" He kicked it then, sending it rolling backwards. All was silent for only a moment.

"_Correct._" It made its way to the other Dalek. "_Review testimony._"

"_I am the Doctor! And you are the Daleks!_"

"Testimony? What are you talking about, testimony?"

"_Transmitting testimony now._"

"Transmit what, where?"

They said nothing before one of the Daleks exclaimed, "_Testimony accepted!_"

"Get back, all of you!" The Doctor held his arms out, backing away and making Bracewell, Amy, and Emma go with him.

"Marines!" Winston yelled out the door. "Marines, get in here!" Two of them were quick to run in, just like a Dalek was quick to shoot them both. Amy gasped and Emma stumbled back, her skin turning a shade or two whiter.

"Stop it! Stop it, please!" Bracewell ran forward. "What are you doing? You are my Ironsides!"

"_We are the Daleks._"

"But I created you!"

"_No!_" It shot off one of his hands, revealing not flesh and bone, but wires and circuits. "_We created you!_" As the Professors arm sparked, the Daleks shouted in unison, "_Victory, victory, victory!_" before disappearing.

"What just happened, Doctor?" Amy asked.

"I wanted to know what they wanted, what their plan was. I was their plan!" He looked back at her and Emma and then ran straight out of the room.

"Hey!" Though she stayed back for a moment, Emma was quick to sprint after him.

"Doctor!" She followed him through several corridors. "Doctor, get your scrawny arse back here!" She raced down a set of stairs and that's where he finally stopped, in the room where he'd parked the TARDIS. "What are you doing?"

"Testimony accepted. That's what they said! My testimony!"

"Okay, yeah, sure, they went all evil because you sort of tried to beat the life out of one of them! But you were right! They _are _evil! Don't beat yourself up over it! Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't gotten them to admit to being the Daleks?" Amy and Winston rushed to her side as the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS.

"What do we do? Is this what we do now? Chase after them?"

"This is what I do. It's dangerous, so you two wait here."

Amy stared at him in disbelief. "What, so you mean we've got to stay safe down here in the middle of _the London Blitz_?"

"Safe as it gets around me." He waved and turned to go inside the TARDIS, but Emma darted in front of the door before he could. "Yes, Emma?" He sighed.

"You said that on our next trip I could go off by myself unless there was a chance I could get killed, right?"

He gave her a wary look, tapping his foot impatiently. "Yes..."

"And there's a chance I could get killed?"

"Definitely."

"Ah, then I guess I have to stay with you! See you in a bit, Amy!" Before anyone could register what was happening, she'd slipped into the TARDIS.

"What...oi! Emma Walker, get back here right this instant!" He stomped into the box after her. "_What do you think you're doing? Get out!_" That was the last thing Amy and Winston heard before the door slammed shut. Though, it could only be assumed that there was an argument going on inside, since the TARDIS didn't move for a few moments. When it finally began to dematerialize, Amy turned to the Prime Minister.

"What does he expect us to do now?"

"KBO, of course."

"What?"

"Keep buggering on!"

* * *

"This is a stupid plan."

"_You're _a stupid plan."

"Ha, I wasn't planned!" Emma's laughter faded when the Doctor looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Birth control failed, it was a whole thing. Anyway! On with that stupid plan of yours, then?"

"Yes, Emma, on with my brilliant plan." He huffed. "Now, I suppose no matter how much I yell at you, you're not going to stay on the TARDIS just like you wouldn't stay with Amy and Winston?"

"You know me so well, already! Sorry for biting you, by the way."

"You threatened me, I should have taken that seriously." He blinked for a moment before he scowled and shook his head. "What am I saying? You should be sorry! First you come with me when I told you _not _to, then you bit me!"

"You were being unfair!"

"I was trying to keep you from getting yourself killed!" He rolled his eyes. "Only reason I didn't kick you out is 'cause you promised to make me fish fingers and custard every day. You best go through with that promise!"

"What if I do die?"

"I say I told you so and your ghost makes me fish fingers and custard." His look turned deadly serious as he held a finger in her face. "Emma, coming with me was very stupid of you, I hope you know that. I'm not sure what's keeping me from locking you in your bedroom, but whatever it is, it'll be gone if you deliberately put yourself in danger. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." She gave a mock salute, which earned her a dry look. "Can you yell at me some more later, though? I mean, you know, we should probably take care of those Daleks now, right?"

"_I _will take care of the Daleks." He stood and ran to the console, making the TARDIS land on the Daleks' ship. "You stand behind me and if I tell you to get in the TARDIS, you listen to me. Least you could do after disobeying me once."

"Sorry to disobey you, _master_."

His jaw clenched and he glared at her. "Never call me that."

"Right, sorry, you're already cross with me." She turned to face the door then, not seeing the flash of pain in his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it had come though, as the TARDIS landed and he made his way to her side.

"Okay, remember, stay behind me." With that, he walked out the door, rubbing his hands together. "How about that cuppa now, then? Hope you have an extra cup, I've brought a friend."

"_It is the Doctor! Exterminate!_"

"Wait, wait, wait, I wouldn't if I were you!" He pulled a biscuit out of his jacket and held it in front of him. Emma fought the part of her that wanted to groan, going with his plan to keep him from getting even angrier at her. And to keep the Daleks from knowing they were unarmed, for that matter. "TARDIS self-destruct. And you know what the means. My ship goes, you all go with it."

"_You would not use such a device. Especially with that human near._"

"I brought her here, didn't I?" His face and tone were grim for only a moment. "Try me." One of the Daleks started to move forward. "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!" One of his arms held the biscuit up higher while the other pushed Emma farther back. "No scans! No nothing! One move and I'll destroy us all, you got that? TARDIS bang-bang, Daleks _boom_!" That time Emma did let out a quiet groan. But, apparently, the Doctor's borderline childish threat was enough to make the Dalek back away. "Good boy. This ship's pretty beaten up — running on empty, I'd say, like you. When we last met, you were at the end of your rope. Finished." As he said this, he walked around some sort of panel, looking it over, before he moved back in front of Emma.

"_One ship survived._"

"And you fell back through time, yes?" He shoved his hands into his pocket. "Crippled? Dying?"

"_We picked up a trace. One of the Progeniter devices._"

"Progenitor? What's that when it's at home?"

"_It is our past. And our future._"

"Oh, that's deep. That is deep for a Dalek. What does it mean, though?"

"_It contains pure Dalek DNA, thousands were created, all were lost, save one._"

"Okay, but there's still one thing I don't get, though. If you've got the Progenitor, why build Bracewell?"

"_It was...necessary._"

"What a convincing answer." Emma's eyes widened when the Dalek looked right at her, and she stepped closer to the Doctor.

"But why? I get it. Oh, I get it! I get it. Oh, ho!" He clapped his hands together. "This is rich! The Progenitor wouldn't recognize you, would it? It saw you as impure, the DNA is unrecognizable as a Dalek."

"_A solution was devised_."

"Yes, yes, yes. Me. My testimony. So you set a trap, you knew that the Progenitor would recognize me. The Daleks' greatest enemy! It would accept my word. My recognition of you." He'd turned his back as one of the Daleks turned to a panel and stuck its plunger over something. Though he heard it and pulled the biscuit out, spinning back around. "No, no, no, no. What are you doing?"

"_Withdraw now, Doctor, or the city dies in flames._"

"Who are you kidding? This ship is a _wreck_. You don't have the power to destroy London."

"_Watch as the humans destroy themselves._"

"Hmm." Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "And you said it'd be safer down there."

His fearful look didn't match his tone as he spat, "Oh, shut up!" He seemed to know exactly what they were doing, turning on all the lights in London. "Turn those lights off now. Turn London off or I _swear _I will use the TARDIS self-destruct!"

"_Stalemate, Doctor. Leave us, and return to Earth._"

"Oh, that's it? That's your great victory? You leave?"

"_Extinction is not an option. We shall return to our own time and begin again._"

"No, no, no! I won't let you get away this time! I won't!" He paused as a door behind the Daleks closed and a whoosh sounded through the air.

"_We have succeeded!_" The three Daleks moved away from the door. "_DNA reconstruction is complete._" The door opened with sparks and a billow of smoke. "_Observe, Doctor, a new Dalek paradigm!_" Out from the smoke came another Dalek, though it was larger than the rest and white. It was followed by ones of different color: blue, orange, yellow, and red. "_The Progenitor has fulfilled our new destiny. Behold, the restoration of the Daleks! The resurrection of the master race! All hail the new Daleks! All hail the new Daleks!_"

"_Yes, you are inferior_!" The white Dalek's voice was deeper than the others' and Emma found herself gripping the Doctor's hand tightly.

"Doctor, I fully admit to being an idiot. I shouldn't have come." She met his eyes as he looked back at her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too. You know, for the fact that I actually let you come and didn't lock you in your bedroom." They shared a small smile before looking back at the Daleks.

"_Cleanse the unclean! Total obliteration! Disintegrate!_" The blue Dalek took down two of the smaller ones, while the red one shot the third.

"Blimey," the Doctor gave Emma's hand a light squeeze. "what do you do to the ones who mess up?" He was soon pushing her back as the white Dalek approached, digging around in his pocket for the biscuit again.

"_You are the Doctor! You must be exterminated!_"

"Don't mess with me, sweetheart."

"_We are the paradigm of a new Dalek race. Scientist, Strategist, Drone, Eternal, and the Supreme._"

"Which would be you, I'm guessing? Well, you know, nice paint job. I'd be feeling pretty swish if I looked like you. Pretty Supreme." He nearly sang the Dalek's name. "Question is, what do we do now? Either you turn off your clever machine or I'll blow you and your new paradigm into eternity." Unbeknownst to him, the blue Dalek was scanning him.

"_And yourself._" The white Dalek turned just a bit to look at Emma. "_And the girl._"

"Occupational hazard."

"_Scan reveals nothing!_" The blue Dalek rolled towards them. "_TARDIS self-destruct device non-existent!_"

"Alright," he bit the biscuit in half. "it's a Jammie Dodger, but I was promised tea!" He offered the other half to Emma and she rolled her eyes, slapping his hand away. A siren sounded through the ship and the blue Dalek went to a scanner of some sort.

"_Alert! Unidentified projectile approaching!_" Since all the Daleks had turned to that scanner, the Doctor pulled Emma to one on the opposite side of the room "_Correction. Multiple projectiles!_"

The white Dalek turned towards them. "_What have the humans done_?"

"I don't know."

"_Explain! Explain! Explain!_"

"We heard you the first time!" Emma snapped. "Shut up!" She was really starting to wonder why she hadn't been shot yet.

"Danny Boy to the Doctor! Danny Boy to the Doctor! Are you receiving me? Over."

The Doctor spun around at that, looking up. "Oh, Winston, you beauty!"

"Danny Boy to the Doctor! Come in. Over."

"Loud and clear, Danny Boy! Big dish, side of the ship, blow it up! Over!" They were quickly being surrounded by the Daleks. "Emma, remember when I told you to listen if I said to get into the TARDIS?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, get into the TARDIS!" They ran then, as one of the Daleks yelled to exterminate them, ducking to avoid getting hit with lasers. Emma yelped as one zoomed right over her head and the Doctor only looked at her in panic for a second to make sure she was okay, before he pulled her into the TARDIS.

* * *

**A/N - Well, I didn't like it very much, ugh. I feel like Emma's coming off a bit like a Mary Sue? I'm getting those vibes and I hate it. I hope you guys don't mind that I made her go with the Doctor and that it made sense. Anywho, the next chapter should be the last of Victory of the Daleks. Yes, the Doctor will still be a bit cross with Emma for coming onto the ship with him. Yes, he may go into her bedroom to have a talk with her. Yes, he might find her phone on her bed and "accidentally" light up the screen to find a very interesting picture...and that picture may include who she was talking on the phone with :)**


	10. Not Too Shabby

**A/N - Thank you to TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, blackcat711 (after this chapter, she will definitely be more involved!), skidney, xxOMGgalxx, Silver Scripted Gallifreyan, Tayla, Esther, Guest, and Ali for reviewing!**

**To Esther - Personally, I did think I was leaving out far too many details and that everything with the Daleks was moving too fast, but this episode was and is extremely hard to work with. I was getting frustrated and just wanted to get out another chapter for everyone. And no, no, no. The Doctor only ever insinuates something like her not being allowed to do something because she's a woman if he's very angry with her, and even then, it's pretty rare and he it's usually a slip of the tongue or he meant human but said girl instead. I feel awful that you're getting that feeling from A Strange World. You weren't mean at all, I honestly appreciate you bringing everything to my attention!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_And I go for it every time  
Just like a heavy drinker  
I go for it every time  
Hook, line and sinker_

* * *

"_Danny Boy to the Doctor...only me left now._" The pilot's message put equally somber looks on Emma's and the Doctor's faces. "_Anything you can do, sir? Over._"

The Doctor shook his head slightly, stalking over to the console and picking up a small microphone. "The Doctor to Danny Boy, the Doctor to Danny Boy. I can disrupt the Dalek shields, but not for long. Over."

"_Good show, Doctor. Go to it. Over._"

He gave a soft sigh before he placed the microphone back on the console and pushed up a lever to begin flying the TARDIS. Emma watched him from the jumpseat, her arms crossed over her chest. "What if, uh, Danny Boy doesn't make it?" She saw him pause, but he didn't answer, instead returning to rushing around the console and working the controls. There were a few tense moments before they could hear the pilot's voice again.

"_Danny boy to the Doctor. Going in for another attack._"

"Does that mean he did it?" She once again didn't get an answer, as the Doctor grabbed the microphone in one hand and the monitor above the console in the other.

"The Doctor to Danny Boy, the Doctor to Danny Boy. Destroy this ship! Over!"

"_What about you, Doctor?_"

He crossed one leg in front of the other, casting a quick glance at Emma. "I'll be okay." The screen on the wall suddenly flickered to life and the white Dalek appeared on it.

"_Doctor,_" its deep voice surprised Emma, since she hadn't noticed it come on screen, and she nearly fell out of the chair. "_call off your attack!_"

"What?" He laughed. "And let you scuttle off back to the future? No fear?" He walked over to the railing, grabbing onto it. "This is the end for you. The _final_ end."

"_Call off your attack or we will destroy the earth._"

"I'm not stupid, mate. You've just played your last card." He looked to Emma out of the corner of his eye when she appeared at his side, giving her a smile.

"_Bracewell is a bomb!_"

His smile slowly fell as his gaze went back to the screen. "You're bluffing." He didn't sound to sure about that. "Deception's second nature to you. There isn't a sincere bone in your body." His eyes rolled to the ceiling for a moment, his brow furrowing. "There isn't _a bone_ in your body."

"_His power is derived from an Oblivion Continuum. Call off your attack, or we will detonate the android._"

"No!" He turned and ran back to the console, Emma close behind. "This is my best chance ever! The last of the Daleks! I can rid the universe of you, _once_," he grabbed onto the monitor above the control panel as the Dalek appeared on it. "and for all!"

"_Then do it. But we will shatter the planet below! The earth will die, screaming!_"

"Doctor, don't listen to it." Emma grabbed onto his arm when she saw the tears in his eyes, the look of consideration on his face. "Like you said, it could be bluffing. It's just, well...it's got a really well thought out lie."

"_Your human is foolish._"

She glared at the screen. "Oi!"

"If I let you go," the Doctor said softly. "you'll be stronger than ever. A new race of Daleks."

"_Then choose, Doctor! Destroy the Daleks or save the earth. Begin countdown of Oblivion Continuum! Choose, Doctor! Choose! Choose!_"

He looked down, pausing for only a moment before he picked up the microphone. He looked back up at the screen with pain in his eyes and regret in his voice as he said, "The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Withdraw."

"_Say again, sir._" The pilot answered after a moment. "_Over._"

"Withdraw! Return to earth. Over and out."

"_But, sir-"_

"There's no time, you have to return to earth, now! Over!" He put the microphone back in its place and started setting the TARDIS to land on earth. He didn't stop at the look Emma was giving him, but did ask her, "What?"

She opened her mouth and gave a sharp intake of breath as she prepared to say something, but she soon decided against it, shaking her head. "Nothing."

"Good, because the world is a little more important. They're going to blow him up anyway, I know it." In a flash, he was running towards the doors and she was a few paces behind him. He flung the doors open and the two sped out of the TARDIS and up the stairs of the same room it had materialized in before. Emma stayed silent as they ran. That is, until they made it to the map room and he punched Bracewell in the face.

"Doctor!" She shouted, watching as he shook his hand, obviously in pain. "If he is a bomb, that could have set him off! You don't know!"

"_What_?" Bracewell squeaked from the floor. "A bomb?"

"Sorry, Professor, yes, you're a bomb! An inconveivably massive Dalek bomb. There's an Oblivion Continuum inside you, a captured wormhole that provides perpetual power. Detonate that, and the earth will bleed through into another dimension." He knelt by the Professor, tearing open the man's shirt and pulling out his sonic. "Now, keep down!" He used the sonic to open up his chest, revealing some sort of mechanics beneath his skin. A circle in the middle of it glowed blue, though soon one section of it turned yellow.

Amy, who had been gaping from the punch, finally stopped to ask, "Well?"

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know." He shook the screwdriver. "Never seen one up close before!"

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Emma couldn't help but snap, leaning back against a table with a groan. "Everyone, prepare to bleed into another dimension."

"So, what," Amy sputtered. "they've wired him up to detonate?"

"Not wired him up! He is a bomb. Walking, talking," he poorly imitated the sound of an explosion to go with the next word. "exploding! The moment that flashes red."

"There's...a blue wire or something you have to cut, isn't there? There's always a blue wire." She was pointing at him and he stood, pointing right back. "Or a red one."

"Or maybe a green one."

The Doctor gave Emma a glare. "You're not helping."

"It's incredible!" Winston laughed. "He talked to us about his memories. The Great War-"

"Someone else's stolen thoughts, implanted in a positronic brain." The Doctor tossed his screwdriver back and forth in his hands. "Tell me about it, Bracewell! Tell me about your life!" He kneeled by the Professor again.

"Doctor, I really don't think this is the time-"

"Tell me and prove you're human." His voice softened. "Tell me everything."

"My family ran the post office. It's a little place just near the abbey." A section on his chest turned red. "Just by the ash trees. There used to be eight trees, but...but there was a storm."

The Doctor made some sort of hand gesture, trying to get him to hurry up. "And your parents? Come on! Tell me!"

"Good people. Kind people." He stuttered out quickly. "They...they died. Scarlet fever."

"What was that like? How did it feel?"

Emma scowled. "It wasn't bad enough that you hit him physically?" Her tone didn't match her face, it was sad more so than angry, her heart breaking for the man whose life had seemingly been a lie.

"How did it make you feel, Edwin? Tell me! Tell me now!"

"It hurt." He practically sobbed the words out. "It hurt, Doctor, so badly. Like a wound." Amy covered her mouth at that. Another section on Bracewells chest turned red and the one next to it turned yellow. "It was worse than a wound. Like I'd been emptied out. There was nothing." Tears filled Emma's eyes as she remember that was the way she had felt when her father left. It had been like he'd taken all of her insides with him and she was just a shell. Though, she supposed, her father leaving did not compare at all with what Bracewell had to go through.

"Good. Remember it now, Edwin! The ash trees by the post office and your mum and dad, and losing them and men in the trenches you saw die...remember it! Feel it, because you're human." The Doctor was speaking quicker as the third section turned orange and then red. "You're not like them. You are not like the Daleks!"

"It hurts, Doctor. It hurts so much!"

"_Good_! Good, good! Brilliant! Embrace it." A fourth section turned yellow. "That means you're alive! They cannot explode that bomb, you're a human being! You are flesh and blood! They cannot explode that bomb! Believe it! You are Professor Edwin Bracewell! And you, my friend, are a human being!" The section flickered to red and the last section went yellow. "It's not working, I can't stop it."

Amy headed to the two of them, kneeling beside Bracewell. "Hey...Paisley. Ever fancied someone you knew you shouldn't?"

"What?"

"Hurts, doesn't it?" The last section, which had turned to orange, flickered back to yellow. She and the Doctor exchange a look, a small smile appearing on her face. "But kind of a good hurt."

Bracewell looked to the Doctor before looking back at Amy. "I really shouldn't talk about her."

"Oh." She raised her eyebrows. "There's a her." Bracewell nodded and smiled, the last section on his chest turning blue.

"What was her name?" The Doctor asked.

"Dorabella."

"Dorabella?" He laughed for a moment before he realized his mistake. "It's a lovely name, it's a _beautiful_ name."

Amy gave him a look and then asked Bracewell, "What was she like, Edwin?"

"Oh...such a smile." He said dreamily. "And her eyes...her eyes were so blue...almost violet. Like the last touch of sunset on the edge of the world...Dorabella..." At the last mention of her name, the entire circle on his chest turned blue.

"Welcome to the human race." The Doctor looked from him to Amy and smiled, snapping and turning around to face Winston. "You're brilliant," he pointed to Bracewell. "You're brilliant. And you..." His hands just made a movement in the air for a few seconds before he grabbed Amy and kissed her on the forehead, making her laugh. "Now, gotta stop them!" He stood, spinning on his heel. "Stop the Daleks!"

"Wait, Doctor! Wait!" He paused in the doorway at the sound of Bracewell's voice. "Wait." The Professor sat up, holding his arm to his torso. "It's too late. Gone." He shook his head as the Doctor walked back to him. "They've gone."

"No, no!" He nearly screamed, twisting around and looking at the ceiling. "They can't! They can't have got away from me again!"

"No, I can feel it." He adjusted his glasses. "My mind is clear. The Daleks have gone."

The Doctor grabbed onto a pole, looking as if he was about to pass out at any moment. Amy stepped forward and tried to reassure him. "Doctor, it's okay! You did it. You stopped the bomb. Doctor?"

"I had a choice. And they knew I'd choose the earth." He sounded completely devastated. "The Daleks have won. They beat me. They've won."

"But you saved the earth. Not too shabby, is it?"

He looked to Winston and then to Emma, who gave him a small smile. He slowly began to return it as Amy asked again, "Is it?"

"No. It's not too shabby." He threw his arms out before slapping his hands together.

"It's a brilliant achievement, my dear friend." Winston stepped towards him, pulling a cigar out of his jacket. "Here, have a cigar!"

"No." He waved the gift off. The hurt from having lost to the Daleks appeared on his face again when he thought no one was looking, not realizing that Emma still was.

* * *

"So, what now, then?" Amy stood with Winston and Emma.

"I still have a war to run, Miss Pond."

A woman walked over and handed him a slip of paper. "Prime Minister."

"Oh, thank you." He looked it over. "They hit the Palace and St. Paul's again. Fire crews only just saved it."

Emma looked up when Breen entered the room, the woman only keeping it together for a moment before she began to sob. "Is she okay?" She asked Winston.

"What?" He glanced up.

"She's...well, she's crying."

"Oh, Miss Breen. Her young man didn't make it, I'm afraid. Just got word." He frowned. "Shot down over the Channel." The three watched for a moment as Breen was comforted by another woman.

"Where's the Doctor?" Amy asked just as the man in question walked in.

"Tying up loose ends." He strode over to them. "I've taken out all the alien tech Bracewell put in."

"Won't you reconsider, Doctor?" Winston threw a hand in the air, frustrated. "Those Spitfires would win me the war in twenty-four hours."

The Doctor picked a cup of tea up off the table and took a sip. "Exactly."

"But why not? Why can't we put an end to all this misery?"

"Oh, it doesn't work like that, Winston." He put the cup down. "It's gonna be tough. There are terrible days to come. The darkest days. But you can do it. You know you can."

"Stay with us, and help us win through! The world needs you."

"The world doesn't need me." He smiled, shaking his head.

Winston looked surprised. "No?"

"The world's got Winston Spencer Churchill." He gave the man the 'V for victory' sign and Winston laughed.

"It's been a pleasure, Doctor, as always."

"Too right!" The two men opened their arms before embracing each other.

"Goodbye, Doctor."

He chuckled, patting his back. "Oh, shall we say adieu?"

"Indeed." Winston ended the hug and turned to Amy and Emma. "Goodbye, Miss Pond and Miss Walker."

"It's...it's been amazing." Amy clasped her hands beneath her chin. "Meeting you."

"I'm sure it has." He grinned when she kissed his cheek.

"Can I have a hug?" Emma asked, just a bit shy. "I mean, you're my absolute favorite, you know?" When he opened his arms, she wrapped one arm around him while slipping her free hand into his jacket pocket to take the TARDIS key. As she stepped back and held it in the air, the Doctor choked on his tea, patting the pocket he thought he had it in. "Who knew such a great man would resort to stealing?"

"Oh, she's good, Doctor! As sharp as a pin! _Almost_ as sharp as me." He stuck a cigar in his mouth and lit it with a match. "KBO!" After he left, the Doctor held his hand in Emma's face, and with a soft smile and perhaps a roll of her eyes, she slapped the key into his open palm.

* * *

The Doctor, Amy, and Emma entered Bracewell's lab, and though his back was turned, he heard them come in. "I've been expecting you, Doctor." They made their way to him "I knew this moment had to come."

"Moment?"

"It's time to deactivate me." He started to turn towards them.

"Is it?" The Doctor paused at the look that Amy gave him, smiling. "Oh...yeah."

"You have no choice." He sighed. "I'm Dalek technology. Can't allow me to go pottering around down here where I have no business."

"No, you're dead right, Professor. One hundred percent right. And by the time I get back here in..." He turned to Amy and Emma. "What, ten minutes?"

"More like fifteen."

"Fifteen minutes, yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do. You are gonna be _so _deactivated. It's going to be like you've never even been...activated."

Amy nearly laughed. "Yeah."

"Fifteen minutes?" At the confused look on Bracewell's face, Emma couldn't help but feel bad for the guy.

"More like twenty, if I'm honest. Once Pond, Emma, and I see to the urgent thing-"

"Yes!" Amy nodded as the two pointed to each other.

"-we've got to see to. The...the...see?"

"Very well, Doctor. I shall wait here an prepare myself."

Amy leaned over the Doctor to say, "That Dalek tech's a little bit slow on the uptake." She raised her voice a bit. "That thing we've got to do. Gonna take half an hour, realistically, isn't it, Doctor?"

"Easily! So, no running off, that's what I'm saying. Don't go trying to find that little post office with the ash trees or that girl...what was her name?" The Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Dorabella."

"Dorabella. On no account go looking for her. Mind you, you can get a lot done in half an hour."

"Oh, stop torturing the poor man!" Emma stepped between the two and clapped a hand onto Bracewell's shoulder. "You're going to live a very long life, Professor. Marry Dorabella, run that post office, pass it onto your kids...adopted kids, probably, considering your age." She mumbled the last part, but smiled when the realization dawned on his face and he laughed.

"Thank you! Thank you, Doctor!"

The Doctor grinned back before he spun around. "Come along, Pond!" He gave Emma a look over his shoulder. "You can come, too, spoilsport." He stuck his tongue out at her huff and her glare, and the three headed out of the room and back to the TARDIS.

"So, you have enemies then?" Amy asked once the blue box was in view.

"Everyone's got enemies."

"Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Burgens with the mental Jack Russell." She and the Doctor leaned against the TARDIS' doors. "You've got, like, you know, archenemies."

"Suppose so."

She hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. "And here's me thinking we'd just be running through time, being daft and fixing stuff. But no, it's dangerous."

"Honestly, Amy." Emma scoffed. "In what world could time travel possibly be safe?"

"Yup, it's dangerous. Very." The Doctor turned his head to look at Amy. "Is that a problem?"

She leaned just a bit too close to him. "I'm still here, aren't I?" They shared a smile before her face turned serious. "You're worried about the Daleks."

"I'm always worried about the Daleks."

"It'll take time, though, won't it?" Their conversation seemed to go silent, though their mouths were still moving, as Emma saw the look in her friend's eyes. She knew that look. She'd seen that look several times, though it was always directed at Rory.

_"Ever fancied someone you knew you shouldn't? Hurts, doesn't it? But kind of a good hurt."_

She was pretty sure if she was in a television show, the camera would zoom in on her now wide eyes while dramatic music played in the background. "Oh my God."

"Emma?" Amy raised an eyebrow from where she was standing in the doorway of the TARDIS. "You coming? Or are you gonna stay here and marry Winston Churchill?" Her teasing tone snapped Emma out of the trance her realization had put her in.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah! Coming!" As the two rushed inside, the TARDIS began to flicker in and out of view, revealing a crack in the wall that none of them had seen. A crack that was identical the one that had been in Amy's bedroom.

* * *

"Emma!" The Doctor jogged up the stairs and into the hallway, heading for Emma's bedroom. "Emma, we need to have a chat. I'm still a bit cross with you for-" He stopped when he realized that her room was empty. "Emma?" His eyes searched every corner of the room, but he didn't spot her anywhere. He sighed. "I guess I'll just..._wait_." He said the word with disgust, moving over to her bed and sitting on the foot of it. He sat there for a total of thirty-three and a half seconds before he got bored and saw her phone laying on the mattress beside him. "Hmm, maybe I could play a game until..." His hand froze over it. "No. Too boring." That's when the screen lit up and the phone vibrated with a messaged that said 'Low Battery'. Of course, it caught his eye and he saw the background photo. "Is that...no, it can't be!" Glancing up to make sure Emma wasn't about to burst in, he picked up the phone and tried to figure out what button turned it back on. Once he did, the photo he saw was exactly what he thought he saw. He'd somehow ended up in the folder with the rest of her pictures and he was flicking through them, eyes widening a bit more after each one, when Emma walked into the room.

"What are you doing with my mobile?" Her mouth was full with a bit of the half-eaten banana in her hand, and she swallowed the fruit with a bit of difficulty.

"You went to Disney World with _Jeff_? And Paris?" His eyes widened even more when he went to the next picture. He turned the phone upside down in his hand, trying to twist his head the same way. "Can't say I'm sure where you are in this one. It's just of you two," he cleared his throat, a faint blush on his face. "snogging."

**A/N - And there you have it. It was Jeff! Question, would you rather I keep Amy as the one who looks into the Angel's eyes, or do you want it to be Emma? I think I should be able to work with either! And, no, the conversation of Jeff being her boyfriend isn't over. It will be continued in the next chapter :)**


	11. Spoilers

**A/N - I'm so sorry that this took so long to get up! I was sick and then I had the worst writer's block in the world. Thank you to skidney, xxOMGgalxx, THE BACON NINJA WITH WINGS, Little Nerdling, Connie Weasley, blackcat711, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Fulminata, 11Dr. Luv, Guest(s), Alice, Esther, Tayla, Blue Wolf29, Silver Scripted Gallifreyan, ShipsThatFly, and MsBitaboo for reviewing! I'll probably start replying to your reviews personally once I stop being lazy and gain some confidence so I don't assume my reply is dumb.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_Well, all I need  
Is the air I breathe  
And a place to rest my head_

* * *

Emma and the Doctor stared at each other, the former opening and closing her mouth as she tried to think of what she was going to say. The words 'he's my boyfriend' came to mind, but for some reason she couldn't get them out. When she realized that she'd been silent for over thirty seconds, she bit off a large chunk of banana and mumbled something about her mouth being full, offering him the best smile she could. It's not that she didn't want to tell him; hell, she'd been trying to tell him since he came back. It was just that every time she'd told someone she was dating Jeff flashed through her mind as soon as the Doctor had mentioned him. _"I thought you hated him."_, _"Didn't you try to kill him on a date once?"_ and she couldn't possibly forget, _"Really? He's dating _you_?"_ She was still a bit peeved at Rory, even if that had been a joke.

"Emma, I'm an avid supporter of chewing thoroughly — I actually started a club for it and called it...no, back to the point." The Doctor gave her a genuine, if not a tad worried smile. "I think you've puréed that banana."

"Hmm?" She soon realized what he said and swallowed the flavorless and nearly liquidized banana. She should tell him. He was the Doctor for heaven's sake, he was understanding about some things, so maybe he'd be the first one to not make a rude comment about her and Jeff. Besides, even if he did say something, she could just brush it off like most of the other things people had said. She ignored the small part of her that didn't want to tell him, unsure of why, exactly, that small part of her felt that way. "Jeff is my boyfriend."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "_Boyfriend_?" The word came out like it was foreign to him and it was soon followed by a short chuckle. "Weren't you saying that Amy set you up on a date and it ended with you throwing a dish at him?"

She bit her lip a hell of a lot harder than necessary. What had she been thinking? Of course he was understanding, but in the short amount of time she'd known him, it was pretty obvious that he was only that way with people who weren't _her_. "Yes, Doctor. I did tell you that, didn't I?" She probably should have stopped clenching her jaw before it broke, but that was the only thing keeping her from snapping at him.

"Last I checked, that's a clear indication that you don't want to be with someone." The amused look on his face was nothing if not annoying. "Well, unless you live on Cylindrica, but you don't." The ghost of a smile that was on his face disappeared for a moment. "You don't, do you? No, no, 'course you don't! It's light-years away, you don't even have the means to go on holiday there. Well, now you do, but before me, you.." He trailed off when he saw how bored and possibly annoyed she looked. "Right. So, you and Jeff, eh?" He began tossing her phone back and forth in his hands. "What changed? Ooh, let me guess! Since he helped to save the world, he was offered any job he wanted, of course, just like I said he would. He took a high-paying one and that made you want to be with him!" The smug look on his face disappeared when she harshly snatched her phone away from him.

"Do you honestly think I'm that shallow?" She spat. _Just brush it off like the rest._ No matter how many times she repeated that in her head, she couldn't do it. She was sick and tired of the comments about her relationship with Jeff, and the one person who could have understood didn't because, for some reason, it seemed that he had something against her.

"Well-"

Before he could even finish, she was at the door and pulling it wide open. "Get out."

"What?" He scoffed. "I think you'll find that this is _my_ TARDIS." Any laughter in his voice was gone as he stood and made his way to her, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't care. I've been with Jeff for a year and a half, yet people are still talking about how I hated him or I'm not good enough for him." She ran a hand through her hair. "I honestly don't know why I expected this to be any different."

A look of realization crossed his face and it was soon followed by a look of confusion. "Emma, I didn't...it was just a little joke. You know, a joke? Pun? Quip? Witticism?" He gave a forced laugh, fading off quickly at the anger on her face. "That's what we do, isn't it? We joke around, banter with each other a bit. It's all in good fun, I didn't mean anything by it." He reached out to touch her cheek, his fingers curling towards his palm when she stepped back. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know." The remorse in his puppy-dog eyes had her deflating. "It's just a bit frustrating to constantly be bashed by people, I thought you'd actually be happy for us because you always seem to be happy for everyone else and I-"

"You're rambling worse than I do." He interrupted her, giving her an affectionate smile. "And like I told you, it was a joke. I'm sure you and Jeff are fantastic!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he made a face. "Oh, no, never mind. Uh, brilliant? No! Cool? Yes, cool." He grinned. "I'm sure you and Jeff are very cool."

She couldn't help the laugh that came bursting from her lips, honestly seeing no point in being angry with him anymore. "I'd rather you disapproved, so I wouldn't have to listen to that again, you idiot."

"Oi!" His playful glare lasted for only a moment before his mind went to another place. "Ooh, speaking of cool things!" He took the remaining bit of banana she had left and shoved it into his mouth before throwing the peel over his shoulder. "We're off on our next adventure!"

"Oh, before I found you with my mobile, I was actually planning on..." The Doctor was already out the door, but Emma finished weakly. "...sleeping."

* * *

"Wrong! Wrong! Bit right, mostly wrong." The Doctor said as he passed by several different displays, Amy and Emma trudging along behind him. "I love museums!"

"Yeah, great." Amy rolled her eyes. "Can we go to a planet now? Big spaceship, Churchill's bunker..." She grabbed onto a display case to try and get him to look at her. "You promised me a planet next."

"Amy, this isn't any old asteroid. It's the Delerium Archive, final resting place of the headless monks, the biggest museum ever." He continued walking through the room and peering at the little bits of history.

"You've got a time machine, what do you need museums for?"

"Wrong!" He pointed to a display case a few feet ahead. "Very wrong! Ooh, one of mine." He darted to another case. "Also one of mine." He peered into it for only a second before something else caught his eye.

Amy rested her arms on the glass case, not noticing him walk away. "Oh, I see, it's how you keep score."

"An old box." Emma raised an eyebrow as she walked over to the side of the display that was opposite the Doctor, looking inside. "Doctor, you said we were going somewhere cool. There are plenty of museums that could be considered cool, and yet you took us here. Why? And what's so important about a box?"

"It's from one of the old starliners." He looked up at her. "A home box."

"What's a home box?" Amy appeared on a vacant side of the case, putting her elbow on the glass and her chin in her hand.

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes. Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home, with all the flight data."

"So?"

"The writing, the graffiti," he nearly smiled. "Old High Gallifreyan. The lost language of the Time Lords. There were days," he folded his hands in front of him. "there were many days, these words could burn stars and raise up empires, and topple Gods."

"What does it say?"

He paused for a moment. "Hello, sweetie." His gaze went back to Emma and this time he did smile, though it was devious more so than happy. "Emma, give me your jacket."

She narrowed her eyes at him, reaching up to hold her jacket closed. "Why?"

"Just give it!" He moved around the display and made a grab for her, but she ducked out of the way. "Emma, give it here!"

"Tell me what you want with it and maybe I will!" She stepped back each time he took a step forward.

"Would it honestly kill you to just comply? Hand it over. Now." He huffed when she didn't. "Do I have to make a lovely, little comment about you and Jeff?" It was low, but not low enough for Emma to actually be hurt by it. It's not as if he would mean what he said anyway.

"Go ahead." Her smile didn't last long. He lunged for her and grabbed onto the collar of her jacket, attempting to pull it off of her shoulder. "Oi, what do you think you're doing, you child?" She tried to push him away. "Why on earth do you need my jacket?"

"I'll tell you once I've done what I need to do! Give it to me!"

"Not until you tell me what you're going to do with it!"

"Give it!" The sound of Amy clearing her throat had them freezing and looking up. Just across the room was an elderly couple, watching them with looks of horror. It did look a bit weird, what with Emma up against a display case, her jacket halfway down one arm while the Doctor tried to pull it off the rest of the way. "Oh, yes. Hello!" He gave a nervous laugh. "Nothing to see here, move along! There's a man selling toffees across the street if you're interested!" They scurried off and he was quick to take Emma's temporary distraction as the opportunity to yank her jacket off. "Ha!" Before she even had a chance to stop him, he'd wrapped the article of clothing around his fist and had already shattered the glass that surrounded the box.

"Oh, my God!" Her scream could barely be heard over the alarm that immediately sounded. "I knew there was a reason I didn't want to give it to you! Doctor!"

"Run!" Tucking the box under one arm, he grabbed onto her wrist and began dragging her back towards where they'd entered as two security guards started chasing them. As they ran for the TARDIS, he was laughing like a mad man, Emma was still berating him, and Amy just grinned. They bolted into the time machine and he shut the door behind them before hooking the home box up to the console.

"Why are we doing this?" Amy panted.

"'Cause someone on a spaceship twelve thousand years ago is trying to attract my attention. Let's see if we can get the security playback working." The monitor above the console flickered to life to show a grainy image of a woman winking at a camera.

"You used my jacket to break the law, just so we could watch _this_?" Emma threw her arm out, gesturing towards the screen.

He huffed. "I used your jacket to break a case."

"A case that held an ancient artifact! That's breaking the law, you-"

_"The party's over, Doctor Song." _They turned back to the screen. _"Yet you're still on board."_

The woman turned to the man who had spoken. _"Sorry, Alistair. I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination."_

_"Wait till she runs. Don't make it look like an execution."_

She looked at her watch, almost bored. _"Triple-seven, five-slash-three, four, nine-by-ten." _The three occupants of the TARDIS all exchanged a look. _"Zero, twelve-slash-acorn. Oh, and I could do with an air corridor."_

The Doctor immediately went to type on the keyboard, while Emma just blinked at the screen. "I'm sorry, but what was that?"

"Co-ordinates!" He dragged out the first 'O', working on the console to get the TARDIS to materialize.

_"Like I said on the dancefloor, you might want to find something to hang onto."_

He ran towards the door and threw it open, reaching out to grab onto the woman's hand as she flew towards him. Instead, she slammed right into him and they fell to the floor with her on top. Amy crossed her arms over her chest, the look on her face a bit too angry. "Doctor?"

"River?" The Doctor ignored her, his attention still on the woman above him. She pushed off of him and turned towards the still open door, watching as the ship she was previously on took off.

"Follow that ship."

* * *

"They've gone into warp drive, we're losing them! Stay close!" River kept a tight grip on the bar below the monitor, the TARDIS shaking violently as they followed the ship.

"I'm trying!" The Doctor snapped.

"Use the stabilizers."

"There aren't any stabilizers!"

"The blue switches!"

"The blue ones don't do anything, they're just...blue." He was quick to send a glare Emma's way when he heard her snort.

"Yes, they're blue!" River made her way to his side. "They're the blue _stabilizers_!" She pushed the switches and the TARDIS immediately went calm. "See?" She grinned before walking over to the other side of the console to push another switch.

"Yeah." He threw his arms up into the air. "Well, it's just boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers." He jiggled one of the controls harder than necessary, anger seeping into his voice. "They're blue boring-ers."

Amy made her way to him. "Doctor," she whispered. "how come she can fly the TARDIS?"

"You call that flying the TARDIS? Ha!" He stared at River before he spun around and stalked over to the jumpseat that Emma was occupying, nearly shoving her out of it when he sat next to her. "Flying the TARDIS..._please_..." His bad mood seemed to dissipate just slightly when Emma gave him a gentle pat on the head. That all changed, though, when she ruffled his hair and murmured for him to suck it up.

"Okay," River started as she typed away at the keyboard. "I've mapped the probability vectors, done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination, and parked us right alongside."

"Parked us?" The Doctor scowled, standing up. "We haven't landed."

She grabbed onto the monitor, where her high heels were hanging. "Of course we've landed. I just landed her." She moved the screen around the console so he could see it.

"But..." He looked at Amy and Emma before returning his gaze to River. "It didn't make the noise..." He sounded like a confused child.

"What noise?"

"You know, the..." He began to wheeze, trying to imitate the sound that the TARDIS often made when it landed.

"It's not supposed to make that noise." She turned to face him. "_You _leave the brakes on."

"Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise. Come along, Pond, let's have a look." He started towards the door and Amy was about to follow, but River stopped them both.

"No, wait! Environment checks."

"Oh, yes, sorry!" He turned back. "Quite right. Environment checks." He made his way to the door and pulled it open, popping his head out. "Nice out."

"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt. There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest-"

"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen-rich atmosphere, toxins in the soft band, eleven-hour day, and..." He stuck his head back out. "...chances of rain later."

She shook her head, telling Amy, "He thinks he's so hot when he does that."

Amy laughed. "How come you can fly the TARDIS?"

"I had lessons from the very best."

"Well, yeah." The Doctor said smugly, sitting back down beside Emma.

"It's a shame you were busy the day." River held back a smirk and grabbed her shoes off of the monitor. "Right, then. Why did they land here?" She started towards the door, not seeing the Doctor's smile.

"They didn't land."

"Sorry?"

He jumped out of the chair. "You should have checked the home box - it crashed." He shut the door as soon as she stepped out, giving Amy a look before jogging back up to the console.

"Explain!" Amy chased after him. "Who is that and how did she do that museum thing?" She watched him work the controls.

"It's a long story and I don't know most of it. Off we go."

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving. She got to go where she wants to go," he turned two knobs that were clearly meant for a bathtub. "let's go where we want to go."

She didn't hesitate to get in his face. "Are you basically running away?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"'Cause she's the future, my future."

"Can you run away from that?" She looked him over.

"I can run away from anything I like. Time is not the boss of me."

"You're kind of a jerk today, you know that?" Emma rubbed at her eyes and made her way to the Doctor's vacant side, knowing that if she stayed in the chair any longer she'd fall right to sleep.

"Is that a planet out there?" Amy asked, pointing towards the door.

"Yes, of course it's a planet." He said as if it was completely obvious, giving her a frustrated look. The finger that was pointing at the door was soon pointing at him.

"You promised me a planet." Her hand curled into a fist and she pressed it to her mouth, fighting a smile. "Five minutes?"

He tried to resist the look she was giving him, but soon reluctantly gave in. "Okay, five minutes!"

"Yes!" She ran for the door.

"But that's all, 'cause I'm telling you now, that woman is not dragging me into anything!" He moved to follow her, but stopped when he saw Emma was leaning against the console, eyes shut tightly as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Are you alright?" When she didn't answer him, he stepped back to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Emma?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." She opened her eyes, giving him a tired smile. "Let's go, yeah?" He let it go surprisingly quickly and they followed Amy out the door, standing by River to look up at the burning ship.

"What caused it to crash? Not me." She told them.

"Nah, the airlock would have sealed seconds after you blew it. According to the home box, the warp engines had a phase-shift. No survivors."

"Phase-shift would have to be sabotage." She started to open her purse. "I did warn them."

"About what?"

"Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple." She pulled some sort of device out of her bag. "Unoccupied for centuries."

The Doctor moved back to Amy and Emma as the former asked, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

He groaned. "Amy Pond, Emma Walker, Professor River Song." He gestured between the three girls as he introduced each of them."

River turned around to face them with a gasp. "I'm going to be a Professor someday, am I? How exciting!" She chuckled. "Spoilers!" She started to turn back around, but paused when her gaze landed on Emma. "You know, I had an aunt named Emma. Well, sort of an aunt."

"Really?" She tried to look interested, but she really just wanted to sleep.

"Yes, really." Her widening smile definitely did not go with her next words. "She stole from me."

That had her waking up a bit, her eyes nearly bugging out. "_What_? What on earth did she steal?"

"There's an even bigger spoiler." She gave her a wink before turning back and returning to whatever she had been doing. Emma couldn't help but wonder what River's aunt could have possible stolen that she couldn't even tell her.

* * *

**A/N - Hmm, I wonder who River's sort of aunt is? And what she stole ;) Ah, poor Emma, not only is she tired, but soon she's going to have an angel in her eyes. It's your fault, too many of you voted for it! I hope the Jeff thing was cleared up well and you all liked this. I'm nervous, haha.**


	12. The Image of an Angel

**A/N - Thank you to skidney, ConfusedSoAmI, xxOMGgalxx, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Connie Weasley, grapejuice101, TheGirlWhoBelieved, BlueGreen216, Guest, Little Nerdling (would it be bad if I apologize for saying sorry to much? Because I might :P), TwilighterCharmed, Esther, and Tayla for reviewing! Gosh, there are so many of you and I'm in absolute awe of how sweet you all are and that you like this story! I can't say that enough, honestly.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_No sleep today  
Can't even rest when the sun's down  
No time, there's not enough  
And nobody's watching me now_

* * *

"Who is she and how did she do that?" Amy whispered to the Doctor. "She just left you a note in a museum!"

He shushed her and stalked off as River began to speak. "Two things always guaranteed to show up in a museum: the home box of category four starliner and, sooner or later," she turned to look back at the two girls. "him." She gave a tight smile. "It's how he keeps score."

Amy walked over to her, laughing. "I know!"

"It's hilarious, isn't it?"

The Doctor made his way up behind him with a sarcastic laugh. "I'm nobody's taxi service!" He stuck his finger in River's face. "I'm not gonna be there to catch you every time you feel like jumping out of a spaceship."

"And you are so wrong." She didn't seem to be phased by his words at all and that had him starting to walk away again. "There's one survivor." He stopped. "There's a _thing_ in the belly of that ship that can't ever die." She looked back at him and grinned before turning back to Amy. "Now he's listening." She brought the device in her hand up to her ear, asking as she walked off, "You lot in orbit, yet? Yeah, I saw it land. Try and home in on my signal." She raised the device in the air. "Doctor, can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon."

He did as she asked, but not with a pleasant look on his face, and she did a curtsey in return. Amy came up behind him, unable to keep from teasing. "Ooh, Doctor! You soniced her!"

"We have a minute. Shall we?" River made her way back to them, flipping open a book that looked like the TARDIS. "Where were we up to? Have we done the Bone Meadows?"

"What's the book?" Amy tried to look into it, but a warning from the Doctor made her freeze.

"Stay away from it!"

"What is it, though?"

"Her diary."

"Our diary." River corrected him as she continued to flip through the pages.

"Her past, my..." he scowled. "future. Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order. Emma, you take one look at that diary and I will throw you into space!" He snapped when he saw her trying to peek over River's shoulder. "Come here." He pointed to the ground beside him and she narrowed her eyes, but did as he said.

"I'm not a bloody dog-" Her rant was quickly cut off by what sounded like wind and they all looked over as four columns of a dust-like substance swirled in the air before four soldiers appeared in their place. One of them quickly approached River.

"No. I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor." At the introduction, the Doctor gave a salute before shaking the man's hand.

"Father Octavian, sir. Bishop, second class. Twenty clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation." He noticed the Doctor was looking up and followed his gaze for a moment before looking back at him. "Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?"

"Doctor, what do you know of the Weeping Angels?" River asked with a smile and the Doctor immediately tensed, swinging his head to the side to look at her, his face a mixture of anger and a bit of alarm.

* * *

"The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship." The Doctor, Amy, and Emma followed Octavian through the sort of camp that his soldiers had already set up. "Our mission is to get inside and neutralize it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to this," he held up some sort of device. "behind the cliff face, there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, good."

"Good, sir?"

"Catacombs," he turned to look at Octavian. "probably dark ones. Dark catacombs, great!"

"Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead."

"You can stop anytime you like."

A soldier called out for Octavian and he excused himself, walking away after the Doctor had waved him off and started scanning equipment on a table. Amy opened her mouth to say something, but furrowed her brow when Emma started laughing quietly. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." She smiled, leaning on the table with her eyes half-closed. "Just thinking about the way Americans pronounce catacomb. Like they're talking about a hair comb. Cat-uh-comb." She drew out the 'O' in a Doctor-like fashion, earning looks from both of them at her odd behavior. Amy just shook her head, realizing that her friend must have just been tired as that's how she would act when she didn't get enough sleep, and she jumped up to sit on the table.

"You're letting people call you 'sir'." She told the Doctor. "You never do that. So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"

"Now, that's interesting..." He turned his attention away from whatever was so interesting to focus on her. "You're still here. Which part of 'wait in the TARDIS till I tell you it's safe' was confusing?"

"Ooh, are you all Mr. Grumpy Face today?" She got in his face, but he didn't even crack a smile.

"A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and one is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in with a screwdriver and a torch — and assuming I survive the radiation, and the whole ship doesn't blow up in my face — do something clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day, that's what I'm up to. Any questions?"

She paused for a moment. "Is River Song your wife?" Her question made him sigh and look away. "'Cause she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. She's kinda like, you know, 'heel, boy!'" She smiled. "She's Mrs. Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she gonna be your wife one day?"

"Yes. You're right. I'm definitely Mr. Grumpy Face today."

"Doctor?" River called from inside a building. "Doctor!"

"Oops." Amy said when the Doctor let his head fall. "Her indoors."

"Father Octavian!"

The four headed towards the building as Amy asked, "Why do they call him Father?"

"He's their Bishop, they're his clerics. It's the fifty-first century, the church has moved on." The Doctor explained in a bored tone, hopping up the steps that lead into the building. There was a television inside and on the screen was black and white footage of a stone angel, turned away with its head in its hands. Emma couldn't help but feel uneasy as she saw it, becoming a bit more alert again.

"What do you think?" River looked back at them and the Doctor came closer to the screen. "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."

"Yeah, it's an Angel." He nodded. "Hands covering its face."

"You've encountered the Angels before?" Octavian asked from his spot next to Emma.

The Doctor crossed his arms over his chest. "Once, on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving."

"It's a statue." Amy narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"It's a statue when you see it."

"Where did it come from?" He looked to River.

"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since, dormant all that time."

"There's a difference between dormant and patient."

River opened her mouth to say something, but Amy interrupted her. "What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it?"

"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen. So legend has it." The doubt in her voice had the Doctor snapping, reaching up and tearing something off of the ceiling.

"No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock. In the sight of any living creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defense mechanism." He turned to the screen, wringing his hands.

"What, being a stone?" Amy pursed her lips.

"Being a stone," he murmured. "until you turn your back." He stared the the screen a moment longer before he turned to look at them with a small smile. Without warning, he started jogging out the door, talking about hyperdrives and such while two of the four followed him, Amy watching them from the doorway. Emma stayed in the room, rubbing at her eyes as if it would make the exhaustion go away. Maybe she should have just listened to the Doctor and stayed in the TARDIS, where she probably could have gotten to sleep for at least a few minutes.

"Em," she heard Amy say. "are you coming?"

"Yeah, yeah. Be there in a minute." She gave her what she figured was a reassuring smile. "Go on, keep the Doctor out of trouble." Her friend hesitated for a moment before nodding and heading out the door. With a sigh, she let her hand fall away and she looked back up to the screen, brow furrowing when she saw that the Angel's head was no longer in its hands. Had it been that way and she hadn't noticed, or were her eyes playing tricks on her? She blinked a few times, assuming that the Angel's head would be back in its hands, but instead it was now facing forward, its arms at its sides. She stepped timidly toward the screen, looking at the time in the corner in case there was some footage that River had missed, but it jumped from eleven minutes and twenty-eight seconds back to twenty-four seconds. When she looked back to the Angel, it was closer to the camera and she couldn't keep herself from stumbling back in surprise. The sudden fear that was coursing through her prevented her from hearing the sound of the door shutting and locking. Keeping her eyes on the screen, she felt around for the remote and hit the power button as soon as she grabbed it. The screen wasn't even black for a second before the Angel came back on. She aimed the remote at the television and pushed the button again, but the same thing happened. After trying a few more times, she finally gave up and put the remote back down, moving closer to the screen. "This doesn't make any sense, you're just a recording." She looked the Angel over before she spotted the plug beneath the television. She tried to pull it out, but it wouldn't budge, and when she looked back up she found herself staring right into the face of the Angel. She fell back with a gasp and ended up tripping over the leg of a nearby chair, falling right on her backside. "Doctor?" She crawled backwards a few inches before she scrambled to her feet and ran right for the door. She tried to pull it open and, much like the plug for the television, it didn't move an inch.

Her gaze went back to the screen and her breath caught in her throat when she saw the the Angel's mouth was wide open, fangs bared. "Doctor!" Any tiredness that she had before was completely gone as she tugged relentlessy on the door. "Doctor!" She slammed her palm against the surface, only causing pain to radiate through her hand. Something felt very off, and when she looked back over, she could just barely see the screen through the Weeping Angel that was appearing in front of it. "Doctor!" She practically screamed his name. "The Angel's in the room!" In desperation, she pushed every button on the keypad for the door and that's when she heard the Doctor's voice.

_"Emma, are you alright? What's happening?"_

She kept her eyes on the flickering, transparent statue, but answered him nonetheless. "Doctor, it's here. It's coming out of the television and I don't...just get me out of here, right now, or I swear..."

_"Don't take your eyes off it!" _She could faintly hear his screwdriver buzzing. "_It can't move if you're looking! Don't blink, Emma! Don't even blink!"_

"Doctor! A little help would be appreciated!" She had her back against the door then, her eyes glued to the Angel. There was a pause outside before,

_"Can you turn it off?"_

"What?" She cried. "Turn what off? The stupid Angel? I don't think I can do that!" The sarcasm in her tone was heavy, trying to mask the fear that she felt.

_"The _screen_, can you turn it off?"_

"I already tried that, I'm not an idiot!"

_"Try again, but don't take your eyes off the Angel."_

"Again, _not _an idiot!" As she stepped forward and fumbled the remote, she heard him saying something about how it would move faster and he reminded her not to blink. "I'm trying not to, but it's a bit hard when it's a _necessity_! Have you ever tried not blinking?" She winked her eyes in turn so she could keep them on the Angel without being in tears from keeping them open for so long. She tried to turn the television off yet again, but it switched back on. "It's not working! It just turns back on!"

_"Yeah, it's the Angel!"_

"But it's just a recording. This is not possible, I should have just stayed in the bloody TARDIS!"

_"Of course you should have stayed in the TARDIS, but nobody ever _listens to me_! And, yes, Emma, it is possible. Anything that takes the image of an Angel _is _an Angel!"_

"Doctor," her voice trembled, a bit of her fear finally leaking into it. "what's it going to do to me?"

_"Just keep looking at it! Don't stop looking!"_

"Don't avoid the question! Just tell me!" He didn't answer her. "Tell me!"

_"Emma, not the eyes. Look at the Angel, but don't look at the eyes."_

At the mention of looking into its eyes, she couldn't help but do it. "Why? Doctor, what did you say?"

_"Don't look into the eyes!"_

"No, no, no, about images, or something?"

_"Whatever holds the image of an Angel,"_ it was River speaking rather than the Doctor. _"is an Angel."_

"Okay. Okay." She noticed that there was a bit of static on the tape as it looped and she suddenly got an idea. "Hold this." Her eyes went to the timer in the corner and she counted as it moved up to twenty-eight seconds. "One, two, three...four!" She hit the power button and both the screen and Angel froze before turning off. She did a quick glance back when Amy, River, and the Doctor ran in. "I froze it. There was some sort of static and I took a bit of a chance." She gave a nervous laugh as the Doctor pulled the plug for the television and used his screwdriver on it, looking back at her. "You're not angry are you? You look angry." She held back a sigh of relief when he smiled at her.

"That was amazing!" River said.

"Amy, hug Emma. I'd do it, but I'm busy." He turned his attention back to the television.

Emma let out an 'oof' when Amy jumped her, nearly knocking her over. "God, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Amy!"

"Better than fine." River patted her on the shoulder, giving the Doctor a bit of a glare. "You're _brilliant_." The compliment was a bit unexpected, considering the whole having-the-same-name-as-her-thief-of-an-aunt situation, but she accepted it.

"Thanks. I guess I did alright, huh?" She gave the Doctor a look of her own and he mirrored it.

"That was the Angel?" River asked.

"That was the projection of the Angel." He shoved his sonic screwdriver back into his jacket. "It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant." An explosion sounded from outside and he ran towards the door, sticking his head out as Octavian told them that they'd gotten through. "Okay." He turned back to the three girls. "Now it starts." He smiled before darting outside. River and Amy went after him and Emma moved to follow, but stopped when her eyes began to feel strange. There was no possible way the adrenaline from dealing with the Angel had worn off already and she was tired again, was there?

"Coming?"

She rubbed at her eyes, though it barely helped the feeling, before looking back at Amy and River. "Yeah. Just a bit slow from lack of sleep." She blinked and rubbed at her eyes again before shrugging it off and following them out the door.

* * *

**A/N - I hope you all liked it :) I'm not making River mean or resentful toward Emma because it doesn't seem very...River-y to me? I mean, Emma's sort of her aunt (I guess godmother could have worked, but oh well) and they were friends when they were younger, so it wouldn't really make sense to me. Does that seem okay to all of you? Or would you rather I have River dislike her and just be hiding it? Your choice!**


	13. Made of Stone

**A/N - Thank you to xxOMGgalxx, skidney, BlueGreen216, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, meganlloyd16, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, 11Dr. Luv, grapejuice101, and Sarah F for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

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_You told me life was long  
But now that it's gone  
You find yourself on top  
As the leader of the flock  
Called to be a rock for those below_

* * *

"Emma, climb down the ladder."

"I don't want to."

"Then you can go back to the TARDIS and wait!"

Emma glared down at the Doctor before she grabbed onto the rope ladder and began the climb down. It shook with every move and she tried to go down quickly, but her fear of heights made her slower than she wanted. She was pretty sure her heart stopped when she lost her footing on one of the rungs of the ladder, but thankfully she wasn't even a foot away from the ground and the Doctor caught her around the waist anyway. "I hate heights." She pushed away from him. "And you."

"Yeah, yeah." He walked off, lifting his torch to try and get a look at their surroundings. "Do we have a gravity globe?"

"Grav globe!" Octavian called out and a soldier pulled the item out of his bag to hand it to the Doctor.

"Where are we?" Amy jumped down off of the ladder. "What is this?"

"It's an Aplan mortarium. Sometimes called a maze of the dead." River answered, looking around with just a hint of worry on her face.

"And what's that?"

"Well, if you happened to be a creature of living stone..." The Doctor threw the gravity globe before kicking it as hard as he could, sending it flying up into the air and lighting up the entire room. It was full of stone statues and he grinned, giving a short laugh. "Perfect hiding place."

Amy and Emma exchanged a look before they shined their torches over the various other statues in the place. Octavian frowned. "I guess this makes it a bit trickier."

"Ha, a bit, yeah."

"A stone angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for."

"A needle in a haystack." River whispered.

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle. Of death. A hay-alike needle-"

"Okay, we get it!" Emma attempted to interrupt the Doctor, but he just gave her an exasperated look and continued.

"-of death in a haystack of, uh, statues. Ah, yeah, I should have just let you stop me before I got to that point." He looked from her to Octavian. "Yours was fine."

"Right. Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection." At his command, the other soldiers nodded. "One question — how do we fight it?"

"We find it, I hope!" The Doctor walked off then, Amy and Emma following close behind. They made their way through a small cave of sorts that lead into another large room, the open space and loads of statues looking almost beautiful. As Amy and the Doctor kept on walking, Emma stopped to rub at her eye. When she pulled her hand away, there was a bit of dust of some sort on her finger, but her eye still felt strange so she moved to rub it again. That time, she felt a something close to sand pouring through the spaces between her fingers and she yanked her hand away quickly, confused to find that there was nothing there.

"You alright?" She looked up to see that River had entered.

"What? Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'm fine." She was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince River. Trying to convince herself that it was just her tired mind playing tricks on her.

Amy walked over to the two, apparently bored with whatever the Doctor was up to. "So, what's a maze of the dead?"

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds." River opened up a pocket on the leg of her trousers, pulling something out of it as she explained. "It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls." That earned her looks from both the girls. "Okay. That was very bad. Right, give me your arm." She didn't exactly give Amy a choice, grabbing her arm and straightening it as she pulled out a metal syringe. "This won't hurt a bit." She jabbed her arm with it and the other girl hissed.

"Ow!"

"There, you see, I lied." River smiled. "It's a viro-stabilizer. Stabilizes your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship. Emma, you're next." She pulled an identical syringe out of her pocket and made her way to Emma, who put her arm out willingly, assuming it would be like any other shot that she'd had in her life. She wasn't expecting it to feel like she was being brutally stabbed. Well, what she _imagined_ being brutally stabbed felt like.

"Good Lord!" Thankfully, the pain only lasted for a second or two, but that didn't stop her from rubbing at her arm once the syringe was taken away.

"So, what's he like?" Amy asked when the Doctor caught her eye. "In the future, I mean. 'Cause you know him in the future, don't you?"

The look on her face made it clear that she didn't want to reveal anything and the words that followed were quick, "The Doctor? Well, the Doctor's the Doctor."

"Let me get this straight." Emma started, her tone already sarcastic. "The Doctor's the Doctor in the future? Unbelievable!" She got a smile before River turned to direct the beam of light from her torch at the Doctor's face.

"Yes, we are."

"Sorry, what?" He didn't even look up from the device in his hands.

"Talking about you."

"I wasn't listening, I'm busy."

"Ah." Her smile only grew. "The other way up."

He paused for a moment before he turned the device the right way up and looked over to her. She just raised her eyebrows. "Yeah." He looked away again, but Emma could see the frustrated look on his face when she tried and failed to cover up her laughter with a cough.

"You're so his wife." Amy murmured.

"Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy. This is the Doctor we're talking about, do you really think it could be anything that simple?"

"Yep."

"You're good. I'm not saying you're right." She shook her head. "But you are _very _good."

Emma made her way over to the Doctor, an amused smile on her lips. "It's like a comedy, with the whole 'I wasn't doing anything' lie, meanwhile whatever you're pretending to read is upside down. Cute." She raised an eyebrow when she saw the cocky smirk that was beginning to spread over his face.

"Cute?"

"Yeah, cute. Like a five-year-old." That made his smirk fall. "What, you thought I meant...oh, sweetie, no." She laughed, looking him over. "Your personality and dress sense sort of ruin that." She bumped her shoulder against him to let him know she was just messing around with him, and he'd just started to smile again when gunshots echoed from the next room. The four didn't hesitate to run out there, only to find that a young cleric had shot at one of the statues.

"Sorry." He said to Octavian. "Sorry, I thought...I thought it looked at me."

"We know what the Angel looks like. Is that the Angel?" He snapped, nodding towards the statue.

"No, sir."

"No, sir, it isn't! According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinit evil. So it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor."

"Well, you don't have to be a jerk to him!" Emma cut in before anymore could be said, unable to handle the look on the poor guy's child-like face. "He got scared, so what? Don't pretend you wouldn't be pissing yourself if you thought you saw the Angel." She honestly couldn't hold her anger back. She was running on no sleep, her eyes were still bothering her, and the kid didn't deserve to be reprimanded just because he got scared.

"That's enough, Emma." There was warning in the Doctor's tone, but when he looked back at her, she could swear that she saw appreciation in his eyes before he looked back to the cleric. "What's your name?"

"Bob, sir."

He grinned, eyes widening for a moment. "Ah, that's a great name. I love Bob."

"It's a Sacred Name." Octavian said, sounding a bit too high and mighty for Emma's taste, though she said nothing. "We all have Sacred Names, they're given to us in the service of the church."

"Sacred Bob." He walked over to them. "More like Scared Bob now, eh?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ah, good!" He gave Bob a pat on the arm. "Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron." His gaze went to Octavian before he put his hand on his arm, as well. "Carry on." He made his way back to the three girls.

"We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes." Octavian turned to face Bob. "You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach." He walked off and Bob hesitated, taking a deep breath to prepare himself.

"Hey!" Emma called out before she approached him, a soft smile on his face. "The Doctor's right, anyone who isn't scared is a complete moron. Don't let _that _moron Octavian tell you otherwise. Be as scared as you want. If you feel like it, you could even scream like a little girl!" She got a smile from him, but it was gone within seconds.

"You shouldn't speak of him that way, ma'am."

"I also shouldn't eat sweets before bed, but what can I say?" She shrugged. "I'm addicted to _Galaxy_ bars and I have no problem admitting it." His smile lasted longer this time. "Now, go off with your friends, guard, be afraid. Be very afraid."

"Thank you, ma'am." He started to walk off, but turned back at the sound of her voice.

"Shove it with the 'ma'am' stuff, would you? You're what, twenty?" She huffed when he nodded. "I've only got two years on you!" She looked over her shoulder when she heard the Doctor calling her name. "Right. See you later, Bob."

"See you later, ma- Emma."

She gave him a final smile before running off to join the Doctor, Amy, River, Octavian, and a few clerics. She rolled her eyes when Amy sidled up next to her with a smirk, knowing what was coming. "So, was it just me or was there _definitely _some chemistry between you and Bob?"

"No, Amy." She sighed. "I felt awful for him, okay? He looked terrified, like he was a little boy that just watched his dog get run over, and Octavian was being a total jerk." She winced when the irritation in her eye got a bit painful. "Go bother the Doctor or something, would you?" As soon as Amy frowned and ran to catch up with the Doctor and River, she reached up to rub both her eyes. She really wished she had some eye drops or, perhaps, a power drill. Anything to get rid of whatever it was that refused to get out of her eye.

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just gonna collapse?" Amy asked. "There's a whole ship up there."

"Incredible builders, the Aplans."

"Had dinner with their chief architect once." The Doctor kept his eyes glued to the structures above them. "Two heads are better than one."

"You mean you helped him?"

"No, I mean he had two heads." He was quick to jump subjects. "The book, the very end, what did it say?"

"Hang on." River sighed, pulling the book out of her bag.

"Read it to me."

She flipped to the last page. "'What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels.'"

The Doctor hesitated for a moment before nodding and starting off again. They walked in silence for a few moments before Emma asked, "Are we there yet?"

"Yeah." Amy nodded. "It's a hell of a climb."

"The maze is on six levels respresenting the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go."

"Lovely species, the Aplans." The Doctor spun around to shine his torch in both Amy and Emma's faces. "We should visit them sometime." He turned his back on them again.

"I thought they were dead."

"So's Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team. Very relaxed! Sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head." He chuckled at his own joke. River, however, didn't laugh, stepping up to his side with a bit of panic in her tone.

"Doctor, there's something. I don't know what it is-"

"Yeah, there's something wrong. Don't know what it is yet either, working on it. Of course, then they started having laws against self-marrying and what was that about? But that's the church for you." He looked to Octavian. "Uh, no offense, Bishop."

"Quite a lot taken, if that's alright, Doctor." He stepped past him and into a narrow passageway, the others close behind. "Lowest point in the wreckage is only about fifty feet up from here. That way."

"Church had a point, if you think about it." Amy huffed lightheartedly. "The divorces must have been messy."

The Doctor stopped and looked closely at a statue, letting out a groan. "What?" Emma eyed the same statue he was, but couldn't see exactly what he was seeing. "What's wrong?"

"Oh." Apparently River understood perfectly, looking from the statue to him.

"Exactly."

"But how could we have not noticed that?" She hissed.

"Low level perception filter," he said through clenched teeth. "or maybe we're thick."

"What's wrong, sir?"

He held his finger up to shush Octavian. "Nobody move, nobody move!" He aimed his flashlight at the clerics, River, and Emma, who were all standing behind him. "Everyone stay exactly where they are." He looked back to the statue before his gaze went to Octavian. "Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in terrible danger."

"What danger?"

"The Aplans."

Octavian gave River a confused look. "The Aplans?"

"They've got two heads."

"Yes, I get that. So?"

"So, why don't the statues?" The Doctor murmured. "Everyone, over there!" He pointed his torch to a spot where there were no statues. "Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak." Surprisingly, everyone moved quickly and he backed into the spot after them. "Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches."

"Sir?" Octavian questioned, wary of what he was being told to do.

"Just do it." It took a moment, but all the torches were switched off aside from the Doctors. "Okay. I'm gonna turn off this one, too. Just for a moment." River asked him if he was sure and there was a ghost of a smile on his lips as he said, "No." He flicked off the last source of light for not even a second, and once he turned it back on, the statues were now facing them. He ran off.

"Oh my God!" Amy gulped. "They've moved."

Emma was the first to run after the Doctor, not wanting to spend too much time with the statues, but everyone else was quick to follow her. "They're Angels!" He told them. "All of them!"

"They can't be." River said.

"Clerics, keep watching them." He, Amy, River, and Emma all made their way back to where they were walking from to see that the statues had been following them. "Every statues in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us." He looked over his shoulder at them before they ran back to be with the clerics.

"There was only one Angel on the ship." River watched all of the statues with wide eyes. "Just the one, I swear."

"Could they have been here already?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"The Aplans, how did they die out?"

"Nobody knows."

"We know."

Octavian eyed the statues. "They don't look like Angels."

"And they're not fast. You said they were fast. They should have had us by now." Amy's voice nearly shook, making it obvious that she was scared.

"They're dying. Losing their form." The Doctor focused on a statue that was lying almost face down. "They must have been down here for centuries, starving."

"Losing their image."

"And their image is their power." A look of realization crossed over his face and he suddenly straightened up. "Power." He clapped his hands. "Power!"

Emma leaned over to River, speaking out of the corner of her mouth. "Question, in the future has he lost his mind? Because it seems that this is the moment that happened."

"Don't you see?" He walked towards the group before walking back to the statue. "All that radiation spilling out, the drive burn. The crash wasn't an accident — it was a rescue mission, for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up."

"We need to get out of here, fast."

Octavian grabbed onto his radio, wandering a bit away from the group. "Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please." There was no answer and he pulled the radio off of his chest. "Any of you, come in!"

_"It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir." _As that came over the radio, Emma and the Doctor stepped towards him.

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active."

_"I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir."_

The Doctor snatched the radio out of his hands. "Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor."

"I'm talking to my-"

"Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep," he held his finger in Octavian's face. "shut up!"

Frustrated with the both of them, Emma stepped forward and grabbed onto the Doctor's hand to talk to Bob. "Bob, it's Emma. Where are you?"

_"I'm on my way up to you, ma-" _There was a pause that seemed a bit too long to her. _"Emma. I'm homing in on the signal."_

"Well done, Bob!" The Doctor slipped his hand out of hers. "Scared keeps you fast, told you, didn't I? Your friends, Bob, what did the Angel do to them?"

_"Snapped their necks, sir."_

"That's odd." He paced back and forth for only a moment. "That's not how the Angels kill you, they displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something." He let Octavian take the radio back.

"Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

"Oh, don't be an idiot!" He yanked the radio out of his grasp once again. "The Angels don't leave you alive!" He returned his attention to Bob. "Bob, keep running, but tell me, how did you escape?"

_"I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me, too." _The Doctor and Octavian, and Amy and River each exchanged looks, while Emma just went a shade whiter, grabbing onto the Doctor's arm tightly.

"What do you mean the Angel killed you, too?"

_"Snapped my neck, sir."_ Emma was pretty sure that she was going to be sick. _"Wasn't as painless as I expect, but it was pretty quick, so that was something."_

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?"

_"You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."_

"So when you say you're on your way up to us-"

_"It's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes."_

It was clear that the Doctor wanted to throw something, but he held it back. "No way out!"

"Then we go out through the wreckage." Octavian said. "Go!" The clerics complied immediately, but Emma couldn't bring herself to move just yet and Amy and River stopped for a second.

"Go, go, go! All of you, run!"

"Doctor-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming, just go!" He pushed Amy after the clerics. "Go, go, go!" He turned back to see that Emma was still there and he gave an exasperated sigh. "Emma, go with them! Now!"

"But I-"

"_Now_."

The look on his face had her swallowing hard and nodding, running out after the rest of the group. She barely made it a couple yards down the next passageway before she felt lightheaded and had to grab onto the low wall that over looked everything below. Amy noticed and turned back. "What are you doing? Come on!"

"God, he was so scared. Bob was so scared and he should've been, he should have been absolutely terrified, but he..." She bit back a whimper and shook her head, intent on running again, only to find that she couldn't remove her hand from the wall. She blinked in confusion before looking down and her eyes widened when she saw that her hand had turned to stone. "Amy, my hand!"

"What?" She shined the beam of her torch onto her friend's hand, confused. "What about your hand?"

"Are you blind?" She kept closing her eyes tightly and opening them again, praying that this time her tired mind was playing tricks on her, but her hand didn't change. "It's made of stone!"

The Doctor came into view, running past them as he said, "Don't wait for me, go, run!"

"I can't!" She snapped, and he froze, turning back and making his way to her.

"Look, Emma, I get that you're a bit upset about Bob, but we have to go-"

"No, I mean it! I can't move!"

"She says her hand's stone." Amy explained, her tone worried with only a hint of disbelief.

His eyes went to Emma's hand before he lifted up his torch, using it to get a look into her eyes. "You looked into the eyes of an Angel, didn't you?"

"I couldn't help it! You had to go and tell me not to!" She threw the arm that she could move up into the air. "That's like saying, "There's a naked person, don't look.' Someone's gonna look because you went and pointed it out." She glared at him as his eyes searched her face before looking into hers.

"Listen, it's messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone."

"Yes, it is! Do you think I'm an idiot? Look at it!"

"It's in your mind. I promise you. You can move that hand. You can let go."

She sighed. "I tried, okay? It's not working, I can't move." Fear was leaking into her voice and soon it was on her face as his torch started flickering. "What's happening?"

"The Angel is gonna come and it's gonna turn this light off," he looked up to the ceiling. "and then there's nothing I can do to stop it. So do it, concentrate, move your hand!"

"I _can't_."

"Then we're going to die."

"No, I'm going to die! You and Amy are going to get the hell out of here."

"They'll kill the lights." At that, a light turned off and the Angels moved closer, while his torch flickered again.

"Get out." She used her good hand to shove him back a bit. "You and Amy...she's got a life back at home and you, it's clear that you have a future! River's from it, so you're obviously not about to die with me. So, take Amy and get out of here. Now!"

"Time can be re-written, it doesn't work like that." He wasn't looking at her, but over her shoulder, and she looked back as another light turned off and the Angels came even closer. "Keep your eyes on it. Don't blink."

"Run!"

"You see, I'm not going, and I know that Amy isn't either. We're not leaving you here."

She heard Amy agree immediately, but she just shook her head. "Don't die with me. For me. Just leave me, I mean it!"

"You can move your hand." He reminded her.

"No, it's stone!"

"It's not stone!"

"If you don't leave now, Amy will die here with you and me. That's basically killing her, isn't it? And all those people up there, River and Octavian, all those clerics, they won't be able to get out of here without you. They're more important, just please-"

"Emma, you're brilliant." He pressed his forehead into her hair. "And I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I want you to save them, Doctor. Like I said, they're more important."

"Oh, no, that's not it at all. I'm sorry about this." Then there was a sharp pain in her hand and she pulled it away from the wall with a yelp, about ninety percent sure that he had just bitten her. "See, not stone! Now run!" He started to back away, keeping his light and eyes on the Angels.

"Did you just bite me?" She nearly screamed the words, rubbing her hand.

"Yep and you're alive!"

"You left teeth marks! It looks like I've been attacked by a mad dog! What is wrong with you?"

"Thanks for keeping me alive, Doctor! Oh, you're welcome, Emma." He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her behind him. If he didn't have to look at the Angels, he would have glared at Amy, who was poorly trying to hide the fact that she was laughing.

"Are you part German Shepherd or something? That really hurt!"

"Seriously, you're alive! All I'm saying." He backed up a couple more steps before he grabbed onto her arm and the three of them ran from the statues. Once they made it to the same room as Octavian, River, and the clerics, every light was flickering there, too. "That is the Angels! They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves."

"Which means, we won't be able to see them." Octavian said.

"Which means we can't stay here."

"There are more incoming!"

River walked up to the Doctor. "Any suggestions?"

"The statues are advancing on all sides," Octavian looked to the ship above them. "and we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium."

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when you have a _really_ good idea." Even River was beginning to sound scared.

The Doctor, who had closed his eyes a moment ago, opened them back up. "There's always a way out. There's always a way out." The lights flickered off again and when they turned back on, the Angels were blocking the passage that they'd come out of. "There's always a way out!"

_"Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?"_

He reached into his jacket and pulled out Octavian's radio. "Hello, Angels. What's your problem?"

_"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry."_

"Why are you telling me this?" He was almost smiling as he asked.

_"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end."_

"Which is?"

_"I died in fear."_

He paused. "I'm sorry?"

_"You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain, and alone. Emma told me to be afraid, too, to be as scared as I wanted. I didn't want to be scared. I didn't want to die." _He looked over his shoulder at Emma, his jaw clenching when he saw the tears in her eyes. _"You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."_

"What are they doing?" Amy leaned over to whisper to River.

"They're trying to make him angry."

_"I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you both to know that."_

He opened his mouth to ask why Emma would need to know such a thing, but he opted to go in another direction. "Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier."

_"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die."_

"Yeah, I'm trapped." He spun in a circle, eyes on the ceiling. "Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, _whopping _mistake!"

_"What mistake, sir?"_

He walked up to Amy. "Trust me?"

"Yeah."

"Trust me?" Once River had said 'always', he turned to Emma. "Do you trust me, Emma?"

"I..." She gave a quick nod. "Yeah. Yes."

"You lot!" He turned to face Octavian and the clerics. "Trust me?"

"Sir, two more incoming!" One of the clerics called out, but Octavian just nodded at the Doctor.

"We have faith, sir."

He clapped his hands before snapping his fingers. "Then give me your gun!" He was handed the gun without hesitation. "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do," he jumped in place. "jump!"

"Jump where?"

"Just jump, high as you can. Come on! Leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."

"What signal?"

"You won't miss it." He aimed the gun high into the air.

_"Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned a mistake we made?"_

"Oh, big mistake. Really huge. Didn't anyone ever tell you, there's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap." He spat.

_"And what would that be, sir?"_

There was a long pause before, "Me." He fired.

* * *

**A/N - Whoo, that took a lot out of me! Probably the longest chapter that I've written!**


	14. Countdowns and Trust Issues

**A/N - 142 reviews? Holy cow, folks! It hasn't even gotten good yet, what are you all smoking? But really, though, wow! Unbelievable and amazing, you all are :) Thank you to TheGirlWhoBelieved, BlueGreen216, grapejuice101, xxOMGgalxx, 11Dr. Luv, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, skidney, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, Little Nerdling, Guest(s), Esther, popsinger99, Tayla, and kate1243 for reviewing!**

**To one Guest - I know :/ I'm trying really hard to put in more original scenes for Emma, but it's difficult. I've been twisting the lines so they seem more like Emma than Amy, but I suppose I'm not doing a good enough job. Thank you for letting me know and being kinder about it than most people would be! I'm going to try to add her in a lot more, I already have some big plans for her after Flesh and Stone, and I'm probably going to have an entirely original episode between The Vampires of Venice and Amy's Choice (And I have plans for both those episodes as well)! So I hope that gives you something to look forward to.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_Oh, please don't go  
I want you so  
I can't let go  
For I lose control_

* * *

Next thing Emma knew, she was sprawled out on the floor between Amy and River. "Are you okay?" She heard the latter ask both her and Amy. She gave a chaste nod, pushing onto her hands and knees before stumbling to her feet.

"What the hell happened?" She looked around, taking note of the fact that they were most definitely not in the same place that they were before.

"We jumped."

"Jumped where?" Amy cried.

The Doctor ran past them. "Up, up, look up!"

"Where are we?"

"Exactly where we were."

"No, we're not."

Both she and Emma nearly jumped out of their skin when the Doctor's head popped up between theirs. "Move your feet." They both slid back so he could kneel by some sort of black circle in the floor, using his sonic screwdriver on it. Emma eyed her surroundings.

"You know, this looks suspiciously like the bottom of the ship that we were just looking up at." Her gaze travelled up. "And that looks like the ground. Doctor?" She looked back to him with wide eyes. "Care to explain to us daft humans what's going on here?"

"Come on, Emma, think!" He rolled his eyes, running to stand between her and Amy again. "The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on? The artificial gravity." That confirmed her suspicions that they were currently standing on the bottom of the ship. "One good jump and up we fell!" He gave a hop. "Shot out the grav-globe to give us an updraft, and here we are!" He moved back to sonic the circle again.

"Up we fe- you know what? I don't really feel like bursting a blood vessel while trying to figure out how that makes sense, so I'm gonna go for the important questions." She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a dry look. "Why do you call it a grav globe? What is _so _difficult about saying the whole word? _Gravity_." Her amused tone betrayed her face, and she saw his smirk despite the fact that his head was down.

"Well-"

"Doctor!" Octavian interrupted. "The statues, they look more like Angels now."

Though he continued to use his sonic, he looked up. "They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army!" His screwdriver finally did the job and the circle opened, now evidently a door. Everyone jumped back when the lights began to explode. "They're taking out the lights." He pointed the sonic up. "Look at them, look at the Angels. Into the ship, now, quickly, all of you!"

"But how?" As Amy asked this, the Doctor had already slipped through the door. "Doctor!" She and Emma fell to their knees beside it, only to see him standing upright in a hallway.

"It's just a corridor! The gravity orientates to the floor." He gestured with his screwdriver from the ceiling to the floor. "Now, in here, all of you, don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move!"

Eyes on the Angels above — or, rather, below — them, Emma slipped inside and ran over to where the Doctor was using his sonic on a keypad. "Doctor, the Angels, can they jump? Or, you know, fly?" She turned away slightly at the sound of the door shutting, but thankfully everyone had gotten inside.

"They're here. Now. In the dark, we're finished." A loud buzzing started and everyone looked back to see that another door was shutting, one that would block them off from going further into the ship. "Run!" He took off for it, but it shut before he even got there.

"This whole place is a death trap." Octavian said.

"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb." He turned back to face them. "And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic." That's when sparks started flying from the door they'd come in, indicating that the Angels were well on their way inside. "Oh, just me then." He pointed his screwdriver at the door behind him. "What's through there?"

River barely spared him a glance. "Secondary flight deck."

"Okay, so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah?" Amy stepped back. "So, what if the gravity fails?" As she asked the Doctor this, River started to work on overriding the power.

"I've thought about that." The Doctor admitted.

"And?"

"And we'll all plunge to our deaths. See? I've thought about it."

"God, does _anything _good ever happen when you're around?" Emma could swear she saw hurt flash in his eyes, though he turned back to the door before she could determine whether or not that's what she was seeing. When he turned back to speak to River, any hint of hurt was gone.

"The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them, it's impossible."

"How impossible?" She shot back.

"Two minutes." He had barely started trying to figure out how to open the door again when the lights dimmed and the door they'd come in opened up again, making him turn back around.

"The hull is breached and the power's failing." Octavian told him, though it was fairly obvious. The lights went off and when they flickered back an, the arm of one of the Angels could be seen reaching into the door.

"Incoming!"

"Doctor! Lights."

He didn't even pay any attention to Amy, instead using is screwdriver to try and help River. The lights flickered again and one of the Angels was crawling into the corridor; Emma unconsciously moved closer to the Doctor. Good things may not happen around him, but she knew he'd keep her safe, which was really needed when the lights flickered once more and four angels were in the corridor with them. "Doctor," she gripped onto his jacket as if she were a child. "can you please figure something out now?"

Seeing that the lights were staying on, Octavian ordered, "Clerics, keep watching them!"

"And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes." Hearing him say that, Emma released his jacket and took a step back. He had never told her what would happen since she looked into the Angel's eyes, but his constant warnings about it meant that it obviously didn't guarantee her a one-way ticket to Heaven when she died, like she hoped it would. "I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now." He headed back to the door.

"Good work, Doctor."

He spun back around to face Octavian. "Yes, good. Good, good. Good in many ways. Good you like it so far." He moved towards the keypad on the wall.

"So far?" Amy asked.

"Well, there's one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."

"Good, fine, do it."

He pushed past Octavian and walking a few feet forward, eyes on the Angels. "Including the lights. All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights."

"How long for?"

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer."

"Maybe?"

"I'm guessing." He reached up to stroke his chin. "We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!" He ran back to the door.

"Doctor, we lost the torches! We'll be in total darkness!" Amy reminded him and he didn't hesitate to get up in her face.

"No other way!" He looked to Octavian. "Bishop?"

"Doctor Song, I've lost good clerics today." That made River turn around. "You trust this man?"

"I absolutely trust him."

"He's not some kind of madman, then?"

She paused, looking like she was trying not to burst into laughter. "I absolutely trust him."

Emma was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded, the irritation in her eyes intensifying, making her give a frustrated moan, digging the heels of her hands into them. The exhaustion was really taking a toll on her, more than it ever had in her life, and she really just wanted to lay down on the floor and go to sleep. However, there was a much larger part of her that didn't want to be murdered by Weeping Angels in her sleep. "Emma?" She looked up to see the Doctor eyeing her with concern as he worked on the door again. "Once we get out of here, I want you to let me take a look at your eyes. The Angel-"

"It's not the Goddamn Angel!" She snapped. "I'm very tired, okay? And maybe, _maybe _if you had listened to me when I tried to tell you that, I could be sleeping in the TARDIS and I wouldn't be about to get killed by some bloody statues!" Being angry distracted her from the fear and fatigue, but it didn't distract her from the guilt she felt when she saw the look on his face. He was only trying to help and she was getting at him for things that weren't even his fault. "I'm sorry." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry."

He opened his mouth to tell her that it was alright, that she didn't have to apologize, but Octavian caught his attention before he could. "Doctor, we've got your back."

"Bless you, Bishop." He worked on the door for a moment longer before he stood, grabbing Emma and pushing her in front of him. "Emma, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns."

She nodded, looking back at him. "Okay, ten."

"No, four." He held his sonic in her face. "Four turns."

"I'm not deaf, I heard you the first time. Four turns." She grabbed onto the wheel and Amy and River grabbed the other side to help.

"Ready!"

"On my count, then." Octavian said. "God be with us all. Three...two...one..." The lights went out. "Fire!" As the clerics shot rapidly at the angels, the Doctor ran over to help the girls turn the wheel.

"Turn!" He grunted. The door started to open and both Amy and River ran to the other side to push it open while he and Emma continued to turn the wheel. Once there was enough space between the door and the wall to fit a person, Amy and River slipped inside, followed by Octavian and all the clerics. "Emma, go now! I've got it!" He used his sonic to keep the door open with one hand, using the free one to push her towards the opening. He ran in after her and the door immediately shut. He used his sonic on the controls on the wall to open the next door, which opened easier than the last. The clerics rushed in, then Octavian, Amy, Emma, and River.

"Doctor!" Amy called out and he darted inside. The flight deck was practically in ruins, the monitors in the middle of the room had wires torn out of them. She, River, and the Doctor ran over to look, but she paused when she saw Octavian place a device above the wheel on the door as it started to spin. "What are you doing?"

"Magnetized the door." He looked back at them. "Nothing could turn that wheel now."

The Doctor nearly laughed. "Yeah?" The wheel began to turn again, though slower than before, and Octavian looked at it in shock.

"Dear God!"

"Ah, now you're getting it!" He picked up something on one of the consoles and looked it over, only to throw it back down and move back to where he was previously standing. "You gave us time, though. That's good. I am good with time."

Emma was eyeing the spinning wheel warily and that's when she heard a more frantic turning of a wheel. She tensed, looking back to find that the Angels were trying to get into the door behind her. "Doctor!" She stumbled back and a cleric caught her arm before she could fall. He soon let go as Octavian ordered him to seal the door, moving to said door and placing a magnetizing device on it. That's when the wheel on the door directly across from it started turning.

"Seal it, seal that door!" As another cleric went to do as he said, Octavian turned to face the Doctor. "Doctor, how long have we got?"

"Five minutes, max."

"Nine." Emma said rather boredly. The Doctor had been typing away on a keyboard, but he quickly looked up at that.

"Five."

She tore her eyes away from one of the doors to give him a confused look. "What are you getting at me for? I didn't say anything."

"Yeah," he narrowed his eyes. "you said nine."

"No, I didn't. You're hearing things."

"We need another way out of here." River interrupted.

Octavian sighed, looking away. "There isn't one."

"Yeah, there is, 'course there is." The Doctor walked away from the monitor. "This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years between planet-falls. So," he spun around, holding onto a chair with one hand and snapping his fingers with the other. "what do they need?"

"I don't know." Emma shrugged. "Drugs?"

"Of course."

She looked to River with wide eyes. "Wait, really?" The look she got told her that River wasn't speaking to her and she gave an awkward smile. "Alright, I give up. What do they need?" She scowled when the Doctor snapped his fingers again.

"Can we get in there?" Octavian asked.

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow." He made his way to the wall directly across from the main door, pressing his ear to it for a moment. "This whole wide _should_ slide up. There's clamps!" He shoved some sort of box out of the way, while a couple clerics pulled away another. "Release the clamps!" He pulled out his screwdriver and used it on the clamps at the bottom of the wall.

"What's through there?" Amy murmured. "What do they need?"

River turned to look over her shoulder. "They need to breathe." Once the Doctor had finished with the clamps, he stepped back and the wall slowly slid up to reveal an entire forest. Both Amy and Emma came up behind him as he smiled, their eyes wide with shock and wonder.

"But that's...that's a..."

"That's a freakin' forest!" Emma finished for her, giving a breathless, somewhat bitter laugh.

"It's an oxygen factory." River smiled, hands on her hips.

"Or, you know," she looked back at her. "an entire forest _inside a spaceship_."

"Yeah, it's a forest inside a spaceship." She nodded. "It's an oxygen factory."

"And, if we're lucky, an escape route." The Doctor said.

Emma stepped up to the Doctor's side, a grin starting to appear on her face. "Wow. Eight." She was awfully puzzled when his head snapped to the side and he gave her a strange look. "What?"

"What did you say?" He, River, and Amy almost comically asked at once.

"Um, I asked 'what?'" Her anger from earlier had gone and been replaced with confusion long ago. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

"Is there another exit?" The Doctor slapped his hands together. "Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there."

"On it!" Octavian jogged into the forest. "Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels."

Amy grabbed onto the Doctor's shoulder. "But trees! On a space ship." The words had barely left her mouth before he ran out into the forest.

"Oh, more than trees, way better than trees. You're going to love this." He spun around. "Treeborgs! Trees," he pulled a chunk of moss down to reveal some wires. "plus technology! Branches become cables, become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. It as an eco-pod running through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle, on a spaceship, in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?" She giggled and started to answer, but was interrupted by Emma.

"Seven." It was said in a bored tone again as if she was trying to encourage somebody's one-sided conversation without really listening to them. She looked away from the forest when the Doctor ran up to her.

"Seven?"

"Why do you keep asking me about numbers?" She huffed. "Last time I checked, this wasn't Sesame Street. Far from it, actually." It was meant to be a joke, but he wasn't laughing, nor was she. He searched her eyes with his own.

"You said seven."

She took a step back from him, not entirely sure why she was suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I did? I don't think so."

"Yes, you did." River agreed with the Doctor from where she was leaning back against one of the monitors, her arms crossed over her chest. Emma switched her gaze from her to Amy, as she agreed, too.

"I didn't say anything!" That feeling in her eyes was beginning to come back, as well as her anger. Though, it was more frustration than the rage it had been before. She was beginning to get sick of going back and forth with her emotions. Being tired really messed her up. "Why do you people keep telling me I said things when I didn't? It's not as if I have short-term memory, I'd know whether or not I've said something." She watched the Doctor as he continued to look her over, even when Octavian spoke to him.

"Doctor! There's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."

He looked back for only a second or two before returning to looking into Emma's eyes. "Good, that's where we need to go."

"Plotting a safe path."

"Quick as you like!"

_"Doctor?"_ Came Bob's voice from inside his jacket. _"Excuse me?"_ He finally looked away, pulling the radio out of his jacket and heading to the seat that was in the middle of the three monitors, Amy and Emma close behind. _"Hello, Doctor? A-Angel Bob here, sir."_

He sat in the chair and spun it around to face the forest. "Ah. There you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry!" His eyes widened slightly. "Bad subject."

_"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."_

"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here, consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"

_"The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."_

"Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?"

_"We have no need of comfy chairs."_

"I made him say comfy chairs!" He grinned.

Despite her anger, Emma couldn't stop herself from laughing along with Amy and said, "Six." Amy and River looked at her then each other and the Doctor jumped out of the chair as if it had lit him on fire.

"Okay, well, enough chat. Here's what I want to know: what have you done to Emma?"

_"There's something in her eye."_

"What's in her eye?"

_"We are."_

"What?" Emma backed up against one of the consoles when the Doctor approached her quickly. "Stop it! I'm five." She paused when she realized she had actually said a number this time and everyone was looking at her with concern. "Five. _Fine_! I-I-I'm fine." She managed to stutter out her lie. The problem with her eyes probably wasn't because of the Angel, anyway. It must have been her exhaustion or a stubborn speck of dust. Must have.

"You're counting."

She gave River a nervous look. "I'm sorry?"

"You've been counting down from ten." Amy told her, concern evident in her voice. "You've been doin' it for a few minutes now, how have you not noticed?"

"I..." She shook her head, not sure why she hadn't noticed. "Why have I been counting?"

"I don't know."

Her eyes snapped to the Doctor once he'd answered. "What am I counting down to, then?"

"I don't know." He repeated. The radio suddenly flickered to life again.

_"We shall take her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."_

He threw himself down into the chair again, picking the radio back up. "Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again." He gave a laugh, not even sounding remotely sorry that time. "There's power on this ship, but nowhere near _that_ much."

_"With respect, sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand."_ There was a screeching sound coming from all around them.

"What's that?" River looked up. "Dear God, what is it?"

"They're back."

_"It's hard to put in your terms, Doctor Song, but as I best understand it, the Angels are laughing."_

The Doctor leaned forward and brought the radio up to his lips, nearly whispering. "Laughing?"

_"Because you haven't noticed yet." _He stood up._ "The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed."_

"Doctor-"

"No, wait!" He held a finger up to Octavian, approaching the forest slowly. "There's something I've..." He looked back to see a glowing crack in the wall above the door. "Missed." He ran over to it, pushing a box with him, and Amy followed.

"That's...that's like the crack in my bedroom wall when I was a little girl."

"Yes."

"Okay, enough, we're moving out!" Octavian yelled and the clerics ran off. River agreed, but didn't move as the Doctor climbed up onto the box.

"Yeah. Fine!"

"What are you doing?"

"Be right with you." He pulled out his sonic and reached up to use it on the crack.

"We're not leaving without you!"

"Oh, yes, you are. Bishop?"

"Miss Pond, Miss Walker, Doctor Song, now!" Hearing that, River grabbed onto Amy and Emma and dragged them out to the forest, the former yelling for the Doctor to follow them. They slowed down considerably once they'd made it a little ways through the trees, and Emma began to feel lightheaded. Her head pounded, her eyes hurt, and her legs were feeling wobbly. River was the first to notice.

"Emma?"

That had Amy looking back. "What's wrong?"

"I..." She gulped. "Four." She took another step forward and that's when her legs gave out, sending her crashing onto her hands and knees in the dirt. Amy gasped and ran to one side of her, while River kneeled by her vacant side.

"Med-scanner, now!" One of the clerics handed the device to her and she began to use it immediately.

"Doctor Song, we can't stay here, we've got to keep moving." Octavian said to her.

"We wait for the Doctor." She wrapped the scanner around one of Emma's biceps.

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the Angels. Until that is achieved-"

"Father Octavian, when the Doctor is in the room, your only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home." She turned around to look at him. "And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself, and if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah."

She looked to the Doctor, who was now missing his jacket, and her amused look betrayed her words, "I hate you."

"Bishop, the Angels are in the forest." He practically skipped off of the rocks he'd been standing on, running over to sit in front of Emma.

"How did you get past them?" River whispered.

"Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe."

Amy raised an eyebrow at him. "What was it?"

"...the end of the universe." He said quickly before grabbing the med-scanner that was attached to Emma's arm. "Let's have a look, then."

"Doctor," Emma nearly whimpered. "what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, you're fine." River attempted to reassure her, but the Doctor soon ruined that.

"Everything, you're dying."

"Doctor!" Both she and Amy were quick to snap at him.

"Yes, you're right, if we lie to her, she'll get all better!" He shot back. "Right. Emma, Emma, Emma!" He switched his gaze back to the girl who was starting to curl up on the ground, unable to keep herself up any longer. "What's wrong with Emma? Something's in her eye, what does that mean? Doesn't mean anything."

"Could you stop?" She murmured.

"Busy."

"Terrified!"

He actually hesitated for the briefest second. "'Course you're terrified, you're dying, shut up."

"Just let him think, Emma." River said the words in a comforting tone.

"What happened?" He jumped up. "She stared at the Angel, she looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long..."

"Sir! Angel, incoming!" A cleric had his gun pointed at an Angel that was hiding amongst the trees.

"And here!" Another cleric called.

"Keep visual contact," Octavian told them. "do not let it move!"

The Doctor began pacing back and forth, rubbing his hands together. "Come on, wakey, wakey." He slapped himself in the head a couple times. "She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and...and..."

"Doctor, what was it that that book said?" Amy furrowed her brow. "Uh, the image of an Angel is an Angel?"

"A living image in a human mind." He sat back down. "We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want, 'cause as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind!" He started to grin and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. River's jaw dropped.

"Three." Emma's voice shook. "Doctor, I'm so scared..."

"Please just shut up, I'm thinking. Now, counting, what's that about?" He lifted up the radio, standing and walking off. "Bob, why are they making her count?"

_"To make her afraid, sir."_

"Okay, but why? What for?"

_"For fun, sir. They want her to be as scared as I was before I died." _The more Bob spoke, the more the Doctor's smile faded. _"It makes them laugh, sir."_ The Doctor paused before he gave a growl and threw the radio aside.

"Doctor, what's happening to her?" Amy finally asked. "Explain!"

"Inside her head," he sat back down in front of Emma. "inside _your _head, in the vision centers of your brain, there's an Angel. It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind, and the Angel is climbing out of it, and..." He looked back up to Amy and River, worry on all their faces. "It's coming to shut you off."

"What do I do? How do I stop it?" Emma could barely speak. "Or do I just let it happen?"

"If it was a screen, what would we do?" He stood and started to pace back and forth again. "We'd pull the plug, but we can't just knock her out, the Angel would take her over."

"Then what? Quickly!"

"We've got to shut down the vision centers of her brain. We've got to pull the plug, starve the Angel."

River shook her head, looking at the med-scanner. "Doctor, she's got seconds."

"How would you starve your lungs?"

"I'd stop breathing."

"Emma, close your eyes!"

"Do I have to?" She looked up at him and he nodded, smiling slightly.

"Yes."

"That's bad 'cause I don't want to."

"No, that's good! That's very good because that's not you, that's the Angel inside you, it's afraid!" He knelt beside her, stroking her hair. "Do it. Close your eyes, Emma."

Her eyes remained on him until she fought the Angel and snapped them shut. Strength surged through her, not enough to make her want to get up and dance around the forest, but enough to make her feel as if she wasn't going to die just yet. "She's normalizing." River sighed in relief. "You did it!" That earned her a grin from the Doctor. "You did it."

As some clerics yelled about more Angels approaching, Emma felt hands helping her to sit up. "Up you go." She realized it was the Doctor who was helping her. "How are you feeling, then?"

"Better." She nearly smiled.

"Still weak." River took the scanner off. "Dangerous to move her."

"Can I open my eyes now? Or did the Angel make me blind and my eyes are open, but I don't know it?" She was able to joke again, but the Doctor remained serious, bending over in front of her.

"Emma, listen to me. If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just...sort of..._paused_ it." As he continued River and Amy eached wrapped an arm around her to try and give her some form of comfort. "You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes."

She shook her head. "I only got to three, I think."

"Emma, do _not _open your eyes. Do you understand me?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Doctor, we're too exposed here." Octavian looked around. "We have to move on."

The Doctor straightened his back. "We're exposed everywhere, and Emma can't move, and anyway, that's not the plan."

"There's a plan?" River asked.

"I don't know yet, I haven't finished talking." He hopped over a rock, clapping his hands together. "Right, Father! You and your clerics will stay here, look after Emma. If anything happens to her, I'll hold every single one of you _personally_ responsible, _twice_. River, Amy, you two and me, were going to find the Primary Flight Deck, which is..." He licked his finger and held it up into the air, as if trying to figure out which way wind was coming from. "A quarter mile straight ahead. We'll stabilize the wreckage, stop the Angels, and cure Emma."

"How?" There was disbelief in River's voice.

"I'll do a thing."

"What thing?"

"I don't know, it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!" He clapped his hands together and started toward the Flight Deck, but Amy and River had yet to move, and Octavian stepped in his way.

"Doctor, I'm coming with you. My clerics can look after Miss Walker. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in her protection."

"I don't need you."

"I don't care. Where Doctor Song goes, I go." River approached as he'd said that.

"What?" The Doctor looked at her and then back to Octavian. "You two engaged or something?"

"Yes." Octavian almost looked disgusted. "In a manner of speaking. Marco! You're in charge until I get back." With that, he followed River in the direction that the Doctor had pointed to. Amy hesitantly left her friend to follow.

"Doctor?" Emma turned her head in the direction that she'd heard the Doctor talking. "Can I come? I dont need anyone dying for me, clerics or otherwise, and...I don't want to be alone."

"You'd slow us down, Miss Walker!"

"Which would result in your death." She gave a bitter laugh. "Okay, great, maybe I'll just feel around for an Angel and let it kill me so you can all run off."

The Doctor sat beside her. "Stop talking like that. You'll be safer here. We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can. Promise."

"It's not me that I'm worried about, Doctor." She muttered. "I don't want them dying because of me."

"It's going to be fine, alright?" He stood, yelling to the clerics. "Good luck, everyone! Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest! Stop those Angels advancing. Emma, later." He ruffled her hair before he ran off. "River, gonna need your computer!"

"Yeah, sure." She began to pick at her nails, trying to occupy herself. She tensed when two large hands grabbed tightly onto hers, but calmed considerably when she heard the Doctor's voice.

"Emma, you need to start trusting me, it's never been more important."

"Why?" She asked, frustration seeping into her voice. "I've barely known you for that long. You're always mucking about and getting me into awful situations. You've never given me a reason to trust you, not once."

He sighed. "I know. But if I always gave you a reason to, I wouldn't need you to trust me."

"I'm sorry. Please don't leave me." Before she could stop it, a tear fell down her cheek and she slipped her hands out from under his to move them on top, grabbing them tighter than he had grabbed hers. "I'm trying to be brave, but I..."

"Shh, I'll never leave you." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Not ever." His lips moved to her cheek, a quarter of an inch from her mouth. "Don't cry, I hate it when you do that. Just...remember. I need you to trust me and remember, okay?"

"Remember what?" She furrowed her brow in confusion. "And I've never..." She trailed off when she realized that his lips were gone, as well as his hands. "Doctor?" She was met with silence. "Doctor?" Despite that fact that it was clear that he was gone, she finished, "I've never cried in front of you before."

* * *

**A/N - Wow. Okay, that took forever to finish! Also, do I spy with my little eye a bit of romance between Emma and the future Doctor? Hm. I don't know. What do you think? Any spelling mistakes are because it's three in the morning and I'm tired as sin.**


	15. Nonexistent Clerics

**A/N - This one will actually have different POVs (sort of) in it! Because it'd be too short and very gappy if I left everything that didn't involve Emma out, and we can't have that. Nope. Thank you to xxOMGgalxx, grapejuice101, blackcat711, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, Little Nerdling, Connie Weasley, skidney, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, Esther, Tayla, 11Dr. Luv, and Guest for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_I know you have a little life in you yet  
I know you have a lot of strength left_

* * *

Octavian had been leading River, Amy, and the Doctor through the forest when a beeping sound started, the latter lifting up a device he'd been holding. "What's that?" Amy asked, trying to get a look over his shoulder.

"Uh, readings from a crack in the wall."

River looked back at him. "How can a crack in the wall be the end of the universe?"

"Don't know! But here's what I think, one day there's going to be a very big bang, so big every moment in history — past and future — will crack." He eyed their surroundings warily, as if a swarm of Angels were going to jump at him.

"Is that possible?" She stopped and turned to face him. "How?"

He approached her slowly, raising his eyebrows. "How can you be engaged in a manner of speaking?"

"Been wondering that myself." Amy crossed her arms over her chest and moved to the Doctor's side. "Are you, like, going to get engaged or something?"

"Oh." River had a panicked look on her face for a moment, looking back at Octavian before turning to them again, this time with a smile masking her panic. "Sucker for a man in uniform."

Octavian glared at her and walked over to them. "Doctor Song is in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago," that made the Doctor look up, a smile growing on his face. "and I am legally responsible for her until she has accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other." He walked back off in the direction he'd been heading.

"You're in Stormcage?" He leaned over to ask River.

"Uh," Amy waved. "what's Stormcage?"

"A prison." He didn't get much farther than that before the device in his hand started beeping again and River dropped her angry look to ask,

"What? What is that?"

He pressed a few things on the screen. "Uh, the date. The date of the explosion, where the crack begins."

"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?"

The date slowly appeared on the screen, reading, '26/06/2010'. His gaze went to Amy. "Your and Emma's time."

* * *

_"Can I speak to Emma, please?"_

The girl in question had been sitting there with her eyes closed and twiddling her thumbs for entertainment when she heard Bob's voice. She furrowed her brow, turning in the direction that his voice had been coming from. "What is that? Where's he coming from?"

"My spare communicator, ma'am. It wasn't even on, I'm not sure how he's talking..." She heard the man that Octavian left in charge. What was his name again? Michael? Mario? Luigi? She hadn't really been paying attention.

_"Let me speak to Emma."_

"Well, don't let him prattle on forever. Give me." She held her hand out and soon felt the radio being slipped into it. "Thanks..."

"Marco."

"Right. Marco." She offered a small smile, not sure if he was even looking at her anymore, before she pushed the button on the side of the radio and brought it to her mouth. "Bob? I thought you were on the Doctor's communicator?"

_"I was, but I needed to talk to you."_

"What could you possibly have to say me?" Her grip tightened on the radio. "Need to make me feel guilty about getting Bob killed?"

There was a brief pause. _"This is Bob, Emma."_

"No, you've killed Bob, remember?" She spat.

_"By re-animating a version of my consciousness, the Angel's kept me alive for a bit longer. It was me who wanted to speak to you, not the Angel."_

"What?" Foolishly, she began to believe him, though she was still wary. "If you're trying to trick me, I swear...no. You told the Doctor that you were the Angel using Bob's voice. I heard you. I know this is the Angel, so just piss off and-"

_"Ma'am, I lied. I mean, Emma. Sorry." _That had her hesitantly believing for a moment and he took her silence as means to continue. _"The Angel has been using my voice, but I'm still here. I couldn't tell the Doctor because he'd want to save me, but once the Angel's finished, I'll be dead again. Sorry, again, for the confusion."_

She thought it over for a minute, nodding slowly. "Okay. Then, if you're really Bob — which I'm still sort of doubting — there's something I need to tell you." She took a deep and shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you died scared and- and alone. I wish I could have done something to stop it. I wish I could do something to make up for it now..."

_"That's what I wanted to speak to you about. There's something you can do for me, Emma, before the Angel kills me again."_

"Alright." She said cautiously. "What is it?"

_"Die."_

"I-I'm sorry?" She was sure she heard him wrong, but she didn't have much time to think about it as she heard the clerics asking one another if they were seeing something. "What? What's happening?"

"Here, too, sir. They're ripping the treeborgs apart."

"And here! They're taking out the lights."

She tensed, momentarily forgetting about Bob. "W-what's going on?"

"It's the trees, ma'am." Marco said. "The trees are going out."

* * *

Amy and River kept their eyes on the flickering forest, the latter with a gun in her hand, while Octavian tried find a way into the Flight Deck and the Doctor used his screwdriver on the device in his hand. "It doesn't open it from here, but it's the Primary Flight Deck." Octavian told them. "This has got to be a service hatch or something."

"Hurry up and open it," River spared him the shortest of glances. "time's running out."

"What?" The Doctor looked up, scowling. "What did you say? _Time's _running out." He repeated the words as if they were the dumbest thing he'd ever heard, turning to look at River. "Is that what you said?"

"Yeah. I-I just meant-"

"I know what you meant, hush!" He snapped, not seeing the glare she gave him. "But what if it could?"

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you on about, Doctor?"

"Time. What if time could run out?" He didn't have anymore time to ponder on it as Octavian looked back and exclaimed,

"Got it!"

* * *

_"Emma? Did you hear me, Emma?"_

She swallowed her fear as the clerics yelled around her, lifting the radio back up to her mouth. "Sorry, what?"

_"I told you what you could do for me."_

"Oh. Yeah. Yes." She shook her head. "I think I may have heard you wrong, though. What was it that you said?"

_"Die."_

She felt her heart speed up. She hadn't heard him wrong at all, she'd heard him clearly. "Bob, what are you-"

_"Open your eyes, Emma. Die in fear, like me. In fear and alone, just like me. Show me that your life isn't anymore important than mine."_

"No." She cursed her voice for shaking. "I'm sorry, but no. I can't do that."

_"Why not?"_

"Because...because I don't want to."

_"I didn't want to die, either. I'm sorry, Emma, but this is the only thing you can do for me. You have to die."_

"No!" She heard him laugh softly and upon realizing that he had often shown no emotion over the radio, she froze. "You're not Bob. You're the Angel, aren't you?"

_"You're more clever than the Angels thought, Emma. They thought you would have at least considered killing yourself before you figured it out."_

Her stomach flipped at that. The Angel had been tricking her to try and get her to kill herself. How could she have been stupid enough to believe it? "Just stop it!" She was trying desperately to sound angry, but panic slipped into her voice. "Stop using my name, stop sounding like him, and just leave me alone! I don't know why you want me dead or why you think this is so bloody entertaining, but I'm not dying anytime soon, so just give it up!" She breathed harshly and the other end was silent for a moment.

_"Fine, ma'am. The Bishop will do just fine, ma'am."_

"What?" The only sound she received was a quiet static. "What do you mean by that? Bob? Angel Bob? Damn it!" She considered throwing the radio, but thought better of it and simply placed it beside her.

"Weapons primed! Combat distance five feet. Wait for it!"

She furrowed her brow at Marco's command. "What's going on? Are the Angels close? Marco?" She started to stand.

"Keep your position and, ma'am, keep your eyes _shut_. Wait!" All went quiet for only a few seconds. "The ships not on fire, is it?"

"It can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it. Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?"

Emma winced when a harsh light hit her eyelids. "What's that light?"

"Dunno, ma'am. Please don't open your eyes."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" She put a hand over her eyes and that's when she remembered one of the clerics saying something about the Angels being gone. "The Angels are gone, you said? What does that mean? Did they just fly off or-"

"Phillip, Crispin, need to get a closer look at that."

"Look at _what_?" She finally snapped. "What is that light?"

* * *

"Cracks in time, time running out...No, couldn't be. How is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks? And she and Amy didn't recognize the Daleks! Okay, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be written. Ah! Oh."

* * *

"It's like, I don't know..." Marco's voice was getting louder and Emma could only assume he was walking towards her. "A curtain of energy, sort of shifting. Makes you feel weird, sick."

She nodded. "Point me toward the light. I need to see it."

"You can't open your eyes."

"I only got to three, remember? I think I've got a good minute left before having my eyes open kills me."

"Ma'am-"

"Just point me in the right direction! If I die, tell the Doctor I made you do it, okay? But I promise, it'll only take a second and then I'll close them again." She felt his hands on her arms, turning her slightly.

"Be very quick."

She took a few deep breaths to prepare herself before her eyes snapped open and she was met with a blinding light. She blinked until her eyes adjusted and that's when she saw it. "Oh my God. That's...that's the crack that was in Amy's bedroom wall when we were kids. How is it here?"

"Ma'am, you have to close your eyes now." Marco was right, she was starting to feel ill, but she was in too much shock to do anything.

"I don't understand. Why's it following us? Why's it following _me_? It was in her wall, not mine! I-I don't-" Her knees gave way and he caught her by the arm, slipping a hand over her eyes as he helped her to the ground. "I don't understand." She whispered, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Are you okay?" He pulled his hand away.

"It was in _her _bedroom wall, not mine." She knew she wasn't making any sense at all to them, so she swallowed hard and kept quiet.

"Marco," the last cleric that was with them started. "you want me to get a closer look at that?"

"Go for it. Don't get too close."

Emma frowned. "Why are you sending everyone out there? I heard you send the other two, uh, Chris and Phillip? No, no, Crispin, sorry." She didn't see the confused look that Marco gave her.

"Who?"

* * *

"Doctor Song, get through, now." Octavian helped River through the hatch that lead to the Primary Flight Deck. "Miss Pond." He held out his hand for Amy and proceeded to help her inside. "Doctor?" He turned back when the Doctor didn't answer and noticed he was making some sort of calculations in the air. "Doctor?"

"Time can be unwritten."

* * *

"Emma, there is no Crispin or Phillip on this mission and there never was, I promise you."

"Yes, there is! You sent Crispin and Phillip, a-and now Pedro-"

"Pedro?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "You just sent him off not even two minutes ago." She was a bit sick of people playing tricks on her, but she had a feeling this wasn't a trick. "Why can't you remember them?"

"Ma'am, who's Pedro?"

"Is this a joke? Because it's about as funny as the Angel trying to get me to off myself." Emma dug her fingers into the soft dirt beneath her. "There's no way that you can't remember Pedro. He was literally just here!"

"It's not a joke! There was never a Pedro, it's just been the two of us here."

She huffed. "No. You, me, Pedro, Crispin, and Phillip. That's five. How can you not remember any of them?"

"Listen, I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever it is. Don't worry, I won't get too close."

"No! I already know what it is...well, sort of. Whatever it really is can't be too good considering that all the other clerics have gone near it and you can't even remember one of them! Don't go near it. Please."

"Here." She felt him shift and then the radio she'd been talking to Angel Bob on was slipped back into her hand. "The spare communicator. I'll stay in touch the whole time."

"Don't. Just stay here, okay?" She grabbed onto his arm. "Whatever's happened to them is going to happen to you if you don't _stay here_."

"There was no one else!"

"Yeah, and if you go, _I'll _be the one saying that there's no one else!"

He gave a soft sigh. "Two minutes. I promise." He stood and walked away, despite her calls for him to come back.

"Come on! Damn it!" She ran her hands through her hair, falling back against the rock that was behind her. She waited thirty seconds, at the most, before she pressed the button on the side of the radio and lifted it up. "Marco? Marco, are you there?" The silence she was met with wasn't exactly encouraging. "Marco?"

_"I'm here. I'm fine. I'm quite close to it now."_

"Good. Great. Now, get your arse back here." She hesitated for a moment before adding a desperate, "Please."

_"It's weird looking at it. It feels really-" _There was static and then complete silence.

"Marco? Hello? What were you saying? Marco?" She feel the air starting to leave her lungs as she began to panic. "Marco? Hello? Hello?"

_"Emma, is that you?"_

She nearly cried out in relief at the familiar voice, though it wasn't Marco. "Doctor?"

_"Where are you? Are the clerics with you?"_

"No. No. I don't know what happened, but they might be dead. Th-the crack, the one that was in Amy's wall, they went to look at it and...the others couldn't even remember them and they went and...Doctor, I'm alone now."

_"Emma, I shouldn't have left you there." _He paused. _"I shouldn't have left you."_

A thought suddenly struck her, of what Angel Bob had said to her. _The Bishop will do just fine, ma'am. _"Doctor, forget it. Is everyone okay? River, Amy, Octavian?"

_"I'm fine, River and Amy are perfect."_ She could tell he was hesitating.

"Doctor?"

_"Octavian...he didn't make it. One of the Angels got him and...killed him."_

* * *

**A/N - Poor Octavian :( And I hope the Angel tricking her into being Bob thing wasn't too weird. I felt like the Angel would know that she had a soft spot for Bob and would want to toy with her a bit more for its own entertainment. Next chapter should be the last of Flesh and Stone! Any spelling mistakes are because I'm very, very tired!**


	16. Who Amy Wants

**A/N- Aren't you proud of me for getting this up so soon? I'm proud of me for getting this up so soon. Thank you to skidney, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, grapejuice101, xxOMGgalxx, Alison Salvatore, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, and superdorkwithoutacape for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_Color the dusk, deep navy blue  
And try to be brave  
'Cause I'll be right beside you_

* * *

"Doctor, was it Angel Bob? Was he the one who killed Octavian?"

_"No. No, it was one of the others. Why?"_

Emma let her head fall back for a moment. "No reason, just...had to know, I guess. So, what do I do now? Wait for you guys?" She felt herself stifling a yawn for the first time in a while. The 'excitement' of the day could only distract her for so long. "Maybe I can take a nap."

_"No napping! You're coming to us. Primary Flight Deck, other end of the forest."_

"Okay, let me just walk safely around each tree until I come to the exact spot where the door to the Primary Flight Deck is- oh, wait!" She gave a sarcastic laugh. "I'm virtually blind!" She heard him give a light huff.

_"Emma, turn on the spot."_

"Why?"

_"Just do it, please! When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, you're facing the right way. Follow the sound."_

"Okay." She slowly rose to her feet, spinning around until she heard the familiar noise of his sonic screwdriver. "There. Now what? Do I just walk?"

_"Yes. Quickly. There's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it."_

She sighed. "But there's trees and Angels everywhere! God knows I'd trip over my own two feet or perhaps an average-sized twig if I didn't run into any of them, and then the energy would just suck me up before I could even stand and everyone would be going, 'Emma who?' and it's just gonna be this whole big mess of-"

_"Emma! If you move quickly, you'll be safe with us and the time energy won't erase you from existence! Start moving, _now_!"_

"So that is what it does?" She started taking a few steps forward. "It makes it so you've never existed? That explains why Marco couldn't remember the others, but how come I can? How come you can remember them?" He didn't answer. "Doctor?"

_"Keep your eyes shut and keep moving."_

He said nothing more, so she continued walking, holding one of her hands slightly out in case she walked into something. "Could have at least kept talking to me for a bit of comfort and reassurance." She mumbled to herself. "But no, he's too-" She cried out when she kicked a boulder. "Doctor! This was a _stupid _idea. I just broke at least three toes."

_"Stop being so dramatic. Listen, I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if there's something in your way. You just manouevre till the beeping stops."_

"Twenty seconds too late."

_"Emma, this is important. The forest is full of Angels."_

She froze. "What?"

_"You're going to have to walk like you can see."_

"What?"

_"Just keep moving!"_

"I don't want to!" She stomped her foot, even though he wouldn't be able to see it. "I don't know what I've done to deserve all that's happened to me today, but I don't want to do it anymore! Not only am I completely exhausted because I haven't slept in over a day, but I have an Angel inside my head, if I open my eyes I'll die, Angel Bob tried to trick me into killing myself, and now I'm going to be erased from existence or have my neck snapped!"

_"Emma, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but you _have _to keep-"_ He was cut off by a quiet, high-pitched beeping.

"What is that?"

_"It's a warning. There are Angels 'round you now. Emma, I understand that you don't want to do this anymore and this is going to be hard, but I know that you can do it. The Angels are scared-"_

"They can join the club, then."

_"-and running and right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see. Just don't open your eyes. Walk like you can see." _He paused. _"You're not moving. You have to do this."_

She shook her head, not knowing that she had a Weeping Angel on either side of her. "I can't do it. I'm not brave enough for this, I haven't been brave since I was a little girl-"

_"Emma, you are so brave. Do it. Now!"_

"No."

_"Emma!"_ She flinched at his sudden harsh tone and flinched again when she heard his hand slam against something. _"You have to do this!"_

She took a deep breath and started to turn, only to turn right back when the beeping on the communicator quickened. "Okay, not that way..." She took a few steps forward, turning again and the beeping started up. "Or that way." Her voice shook as she turned in another direction and she barely made it a foot or two before she tripped over something. She cursed when the communicator slipped out of her hand and pushed up onto her hands and knees, searching over the dirt. "I-I tripped and dropped the communicator. Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me? I need you to make some noise, I can't find it!" She picked up handful after handful of dirt as she searched. She heard the grinding of stone behind her and stood quickly, spinning around. She then had the feeling of falling before her feet hit solid ground and someone was hugging her.

"Don't open your eyes." River said. "You're on the Flight Deck, the Doctor and Amy are here, I teleported you." She steadied Emma before looking over to the Doctor. "See? Told you I could get it working."

"River Song, I could bloody kiss you!"

"Oh, well," she looked him over, smiling. "maybe when you're older." An alarm started to go off and her gaze went to the ceiling. "What's that?"

"The Angel's are draining the last of the ship's power, which means..." He stepped away from the control panel he'd been working on. "The shield's going to release." As soon as the words left his mouth, the shield lifted to reveal a number of Angels, so many that the forest was barely visible. He took a step forward, dipping his head. "Angel Bob, I presume."

"The time field is coming." The Angel in front, the only one that didn't have its fangs bared, said. "It will destroy our reality."

Emma leaned closer to River and asked, "What's happening?"

"The Angels are here." She wrapped her arm tighter around her. "All of them."

"Yeah, and look at you, all running away." The Doctor snapped. "What can I do for you?"

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close and they will be saved."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, could do, could do that, but why?"

"Your friends would also be saved."

"Well, there is that."

"Stop." Emma pulled out of River's grip and took shaky steps forward, feeling around for the Doctor. When her hand hit his shoulder, she stopped. "You already tried to get me to kill myself, don't you dare try it on him. There are other ways to stop this, I'm at least eighty percent sure of that." Her voice still shook with fear and her eyes remained closed, but she held herself as confidently as she could.

"Yeah, like me, for instance." River stepped up to the Doctor's vacant side. "I've travelled through time. I'm a complicated space-time event, too. Throw me in."

Amy hesitated only for a second before she made her way to Emma's side. "I wouldn't exactly call myself a _not _complicated space-time event, Doctor."

"Oh, be serious! Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than both of you combined and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip."

"Doctor," River gripped his arm. "I can't let you do this."

"No, seriously! Get a grip." His tone was far lighter than it had been before, but she didn't even notice.

"You're not going to die here!"

"No, I mean it! River, Amy, Emma, get a grip!"

It took River a moment, but she soon figured it out. "Oh, you genius!" She took a hold of Emma's arm and gestured for Amy to follow as she lead them back to the consoles.

"Sir," Angel Bob started again. "the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now."

"Thing is, _Bob_, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or, to put it another way, Angels..."

River clamped Emma's hand around a bar that was on one of the consoles before she had Amy grab onto another one. "Girls, you hold on tight and don't you let go for _anything_." She grabbed onto the last bar on that console.

"Night-night." The Doctor just managed to grab onto one of the control panels as the alarm blared and all gravity failed. As all four of them rose into the air, he looked back to see each and every Angel being thrown into the light before the crack slowly sealed.

* * *

Emma pulled her blanket tighter around herself as she sat on a rock next to Amy, staring up at the Doctor. She had to glare at her friend when she moaned, "Bruised everywhere."

"Oi, I had to climb out of the ship with my eyes _shut_. And I was already pretty banged up from taking a nasty fall when trying to get to you lot." She huffed. "_And _I stubbed my toes on a rock, thank you."

"You didn't have to climb with your eyes closed." The Doctor shook his head. "I told you about twenty times, but you were too scared to open them. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now."

She gave a slow nod. "Right. Then how can I remember them and all those clerics? Marco thought I was completely mental when I tried to tell him about Crispin, Phillip, and Pedro."

"Yeah, I remember them, too." Amy agreed.

"You're time travellers now. Changes the way you see the universe forever. Good, isn't it?" They shared a laugh, while Emma just smiled, her gaze going to the TARDIS as Amy asked about the crack. "Yeah, it's gone, for now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening..." He looked away. "Somewhere out there. Somewhere in time." He cleared his throat and gave another shake of his head. "Amy, can Emma and me have a minute?"

"Oh." She looked slightly disappointed, but hopped off the rock anyway. "Yeah, sure. I'll just be by the TARDIS if you need me." She gave him a smile and headed off toward the TARDIS, a blanket still wrapped around her.

"Emma," he slowly sat in the now empty space on the rock, turning to face her. "you said that Angel Bob tried to...uh, tried to...what did he say to you?"

Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, but she quickly told herself to suck it up and started to tell him. "He tricked me into thinking he was actually Bob, told me that he was being kept alive for a bit longer, but he didn't tell you because you'd try to help him and as soon as the Angel was done with him, he'd be dead again. I actually believed him and then he said that...the only way I could make it up to him would be by opening my eyes and showing him that my life was no more important than his."

"And you considered it?"

"What? No!" She gave him a look as if he were crazy. "Not even for one second, I don't think. Bob was a great guy, yeah, which means he probably wouldn't even ask that of me. Even if that had really been him, I still don't think I would have done it. Can't leave you and Amy all by yourselves, now can I?" She bumped her shoulder into his and he smiled, looking down at his hands. "Hey."

He made the mistake of looking back up, giving a hard jump when she flicked the tip of his nose. "Ow! What was that for?" He cupped his nose as if she'd punched him and it was now broken.

"_That _was for participating in getting me into this mess. And this," her voice softened as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. "is for getting me out of it." She felt one of his arms slip around her shoulder.

"Please, you got yourself out of it. Of course, I helped." He pulled back with a grin, placing his hand on the side of her face. "And you say you're not brave." He gave her cheek a light pat and stood, walking over to where River was standing.

Emma watched the waves crash against the beach for a while, only looking up when Amy approached her. "So, you and the Doctor seemed a bit _cozy_." There may have been a hint of jealousy in her voice, but she hid it well.

"Cozy?" She snorted. "Yeah, a ten second hug. Coziest anyone could ever be with a man." She rolled her eyes in a playful sort of way and started to stand. "It looks like River's heading off, so should we say bye?" She made her way to the others, Amy close behind, and she raised an eyebrow when the Doctor laughed. "Missed a good joke, have we?" She stopped beside River. "I suppose you're leaving. It was nice meeting you, River."

"Bye, River." Amy gave her a smile.

"See you, Amy, Emma." Her handcuffs started to beep. "Oh, I think that's my ride!"

The Doctor, having turned away, looked back at her. "Can I trust you, River Song?"

"If you'd like." She chuckled. "But where's the fun in that?" She gave a longer laugh before she disappeared in a swirl of dust. They stared at the spot she'd been in for a few seconds before the Doctor turned around to face the beach, an odd look on his face. Amy made her way to his side.

"What are you thinking?"

He smiled. "Time can be rewritten."

"Yes, instead of having a thirty second long sentimental stare at the beach, can we go back to the TARDIS?" Emma asked. "It's freezing out here." Ignoring the Doctor's half-hearted glare, she walked to the TARDIS, waiting for him to open the door. Once they got inside the much warmer atmosphere, both she and Amy shed themselves of their blankets, the latter going to sit in the jumpseat. The Doctor started to pilot the ship and Emma leaned back against the railing.

"I want to go home."

Her head snapped to the side to look at Amy in surprise. _She'd _been the one who'd been through hell all day and she didn't want to go home, so what could possibly make Amy want to go? Her chest clenched slightly when the Doctor quietly said, "Okay."

Amy nearly laughed, standing up to move to the Doctor's side. "No, not like that. I just...I just wanna show you something. You're running from River. I'm running, too."

"Yeah, and while you're at it, could you drop me off at my house?" Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "I've got a couple things I need to pick up, is all." She noticed the Doctor had visibly relaxed now that he knew both girls were staying.

"Yeah, 'course!" He grinned, flitting around the console as he pushed buttons and pulled levers. "Next stop: Emma's house!" He used the final control and the TARDIS took off, making the familiar whirring noise as it landed. "Everybody off! Well, Emma off." He gave a slightly sheepish smile for a second. "We'll be back for you in ten minutes, give or take. Be ready."

She gave a mock salute and deadpanned, "Aye, aye, cap'n." That said, she stepped out of the TARDIS and into her room, shutting the door behind her. As the TARDIS took off again, she walked over to her desk and picked up one of the pictures that was on it, running her finger over it with a soft smile. It was of her and Jeff, they'd gone on a weekend trip down in Woolacombe Beach with Amy and Rory. Rory had snapped the picture after Jeff jokingly threatened to throw her into the ocean and picked her up, making her laugh and scream. As much as she had enjoyed that trip, she couldn't help but think that, despite the danger, she liked travelling through time and space just a little bit better. She quickly shook her head to get rid of those thoughts and put the picture back down, moving on to what she had come for. She lifted the silver chain with great care, smiling when the light from her ceiling fan reflected in the red pendant. Another memory filled her mind, of her and Jeff's first anniversary. She'd nearly cried when he gave her the necklace and told her that he remembered her saying she liked rubies. It was her most treasured possession by far, the first thing to make her feel completely important since her father had left, but all the suspense of travelling made her forget that she'd taken it off.

Turning to her mirror, she clasped the necklace behind her neck and let the pendant thump against her collarbone. She only had time to admire it for a second, though, before she noticed the bags under her eyes. She hadn't really realized how sleepy she truly was until that moment. She spotted her bed behind her. "A ten minute nap couldn't hurt all that much." She walked over and climbed up onto her bed, nestling into the pillows. Having it been the first time she'd actually slowed down in a while, she fell asleep quickly, unaware of what was happening over at Amy's house.

* * *

"Well..."

"Yeah."

The Doctor glanced at the wedding dress. "Blimey."

"I know." Amy rocked back and forth slightly, clapping her hands together. "This is the same night we left, yeah?" She stared at him as he checked his watch.

"We've been gone five minutes."

She leaned over to grab the box her engagement ring was in, flipping it open. "I'm getting married in the morning." She let him take the box from her.

"Why did you leave it here?" He tapped the diamond that sat at the top of the ring.

"Why did I leave my engagement ring off when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm." She leaned a bit closer to him to take back the ring. "You really are alien, aren't you?" She snapped the box shut, turning away to place it back on the end table.

"Who's the lucky fella?"

She turned back with a furrowed brow. "You met him!"

"Ah, the good looking one!" His smile faded. "No, wait, that's Jeff and unless you and Emma are sharing...the other one?" He mimed a large nose, referring to Rory, which earned him a slap on the leg from Amy.

"The other one."

"Well, he was good, too."

"Thanks." She giggled. "So, do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?"

He frowned. "Why would you need comforting?"

"Emma nearly died!" Her eyebrows shot up. "My best friend was alone in the dark and she nearly died. And the way you took care of her, told her she was brave and all that, it made me think..."

"Well, yes, naturally. I think sometimes. Well, lots of times..."

"About what I want. About who I want." She gave him a meaningful look, sliding slightly closer to him. "You know what I mean?"

He stared at her for a moment. "Yeah." She started to smile, thought it fell when he shook his head. "No."

"About _who _I want."

"Oh, right, yeah." He matched her look with a similar one of his own and it actually lasted for a few seconds. "No, still not getting it."

"Doctor, in one word, in one very simple word that even you can understand." That's when she leaned forward for a kiss, trying to climb onto his lap.

"No!" He quickly shoved her back, scrambling over the railing at the foot of the bed. "You're getting married in the morning!"

"Well, the morning's a long time away." She jumped off the bed and chased after him, backing him up against the TARDIS, her hands going to his shoulder. "What are we going to do about that?"

"Amy, listen to me!" He pushed her hands off of his shoulder and she just grabbed onto his braces instead. "I am nine hundred and seven years old." He pulled his braces back up onto his shoulders. "Do you understand what that means?" He pushed her away, stepping past her, only for her to try and grab him again.

"It's been a while?"

"Yea- no, no, no!" He slapped her hands away. "I'm nine hundred and seven, and look at me! I don't get older, I just change. You get older, I don't, and this can't ever work." He tried to get away and ended up back up against the TARDIS again. "A-and think about Emma! Your best friend, the one who nearly died? If we enter a, uh, relationship, she'd be the third wheel! In my personal experience, it's not very much fun."

She scoffed a laugh, giving a fake pout. "You are sweet, Doctor, but I really wasn't suggesting anything quite so," she pressed up against him. "long term." She kissed him and he flailed for a moment, hands nearly going to her hips before they went to her shoulders instead and pushed her back.

"But you're human!" He looked her over. "You're Amy! You're getting married in the morning!" When she tried to kiss him again, he quickly said, "In the morning!"

She pulled back. "Doctor?"

"It's you. It's all about you. Everything...no, no, not everything. Emma's involved, too. She is most definitely involved. I don't know how, but-"

"Hold that thought." Amy made her way to her bed and laid back on it, apparently waiting for him to join her.

"Amy Pond...mad, impossible Amy Pond. I don't know why, I have no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the universe is that I get you and Emma sorted out right now."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" She fell back against the pillows. "Well, don't sort out Emma, just m-" She cut off with a yelp as he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to her feet.

"Come on!" He dragged her towards the TARDIS, nearly throwing her against the door.

"Ooh!" She wrapped her arms around him. "Doctor-" She gave another yelp when he turned her around and shoved her right into the box.

He stopped to look at Amy's alarm clock, which changed to the exact date that had been on his device from before. He hesitated briefly and then ran into the TARDIS, slamming the door shut behind him.

* * *

**A/N - And there's Flesh and Stone! Next up is The Vampires of Venice, which I think I might have fun with. Oh, and, "spoilers" there's going to be a wee, little, tiny (fantastically ginormous) fight between two characters. I don't think I should tell you who just yet ;) Once again, any spelling mistakes are from being tired.**


	17. An Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

**A/N - As much as I adore the cake scene, we have more important things to attend to! Sorry, my loves. Also, yes, my pen name may or may not be different...and get prepared for a long and confusing chapter! Thank you to skidney, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, 11Dr. Luv, and Tayla for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_How can you ask for forgiveness?  
So now you think that your crimes are victimless  
I know you and your sins  
Your retributions  
So how will you lay your penance down now?_

* * *

Emma woke up to someone shaking her shoulder. "Mmm, five more minutes, Mum." She hugged her pillow to her chest, intent on falling back asleep.

"I'm not your mum, Emma."

"Five more minutes, Jeff."

"I'm not Jeff, either!"

"Five more minutes, strange man in my bedroo-" She screamed when her mattress lifted and she tumbled right off the bed. "What did you do that for?" She pushed up onto her elbows, trying to glare at the Doctor, but yawning instead. "The floor's comfortable, too." She started to lay back and only got so far before he grabbed onto both her wrists and pulled her to her feet. "Why won't you let me sleep?"

He mimicked the grumpy look on her face, as well as her tone. "Because we're leaving. Do you have what you came for?" He looked her over. "You don't have any- oh, wait! You're wearing a necklace now, that's nice, where did you get it? No!" He yelled suddenly, making her look at him with one eyebrow raised. "Tell me later, I have some business to take care of." With that, he tugged her into the TARDIS. As he ran around the console, he rambled on so quickly that his words were nearly incoherent. "And we have to get Rory-"

"Doctor?"

"-because Amy kissed me and-"

"Doctor?"

"-if we don't get that fiance of hers-"

"Doctor!"

"What?" He snapped, looking down at Emma.

"As much as I love being dragged around and pushed up against really painful buttons and levers and things, I think I'll be okay if you let me go." Her gaze went to her wrist, which his hand was still wrapped tightly around.

"Oh. Right." He pulled his hand away. "Sorry about that." He landed the TARDIS and started towards the door, pausing to turn back. "Are you coming or what?"

"Uh, I was actually thinking of getting at least three more minutes of sleep."

He opened his mouth to comment on how boring that was, but stopped when he looked her over. "Yeah." He smiled. "Get a few winks in, eh? You should always be well rested, you never know when your next adventure will start!" He gave a laugh before he headed out the door.

She just shook her head, making her way up the stairs and into the hallway. "Emma?" At the call of her name, she backtracked until she was in front of Amy's bedroom door. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure." She stepped inside the room, brow furrowing when she saw the Amy was sitting on the edge of her bed, rocking back and forth with her hands folded beneath her chin. "Are you okay? You look like you could've either won a lot of money or killed a man." Her eyes widened and she took a small step back. "You haven't killed a man, have you?"

"What? No, no! I just..." She wiped her palms on her skirt as if they were wet. "I kissed the Doctor." She giggled, slapping a hand over her mouth.

It took Emma's tired mind a few moments to process that. She stared at her friend for a good thirty seconds before the information sank in. "Oh. Oh!" She was even more alert than she had been when dealing with the Angels. Though, she still wanted to sleep so she could stop going back and forth between tired and awake. "_Oh_." Realization on her face, she pointed at Amy, who just rolled her eyes. "I knew- I knew it! I _knew _you fancied him! It was so obvious!" She lowered her voice an octave or two to imitate her, "'Ever fancied someone you knew you shouldn't?' Oh, could you _be _more obvious, Amy? You should have just confessed your love right then and there!" She started to pace back and forth. "And I can see the way you look at him! The way you're supposed to look at Rory- no, what am I saying? You're only supposed to be _kissing _Rory, but look what you did! You just," she shook her head, throwing her hands into the air. "just slobbered all over the Doctor as if he was your fiance." She suddenly gasped, her jaw dropping. "You are supposed to get married, Amelia Pond!"

"I know!" She finally yelled, stopping Emma's sudden rant. "Look, I know. I'm engaged to Rory, snogging the Doctor was wrong, but-" She clenched her eyes and fists shut, climbing off the bed with a groan. "He's just so attractive! And he's very sweet and- and really smart. You can't tell me you haven't thought about it, yeah?"

She opened her mouth to say that, no, she hadn't, but then she started to think about that and she hesitated, making herself and Amy know that perhaps she was a bit hypocritical. "Okay. Fine. Sure, he's attractive, sweet, and smart, but I'm with Jeff! And the Doctor may be all those things, but he's also annoying and sort of pompous." It seemed more like she was trying to convince herself and she felt her anger flaring up again. "I-I love Jeff." She reached up to toy with the pendant of her necklace.

"Do you? Do you love him? Because you two have been dating for a _really _ long time and you haven't told him that."

"What? Of course I have!"

"No," Amy laughed. "you haven't. Every time he tells you that he loves you, you just kiss him." She crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "You can't act all high and mighty when you're no better than I am!"

"No better than you are? It's completely different, Amy!" Emma told her through clenched teeth. "You ran away with the Doctor the night before you were meant to be married, and now you've gone and kissed him, I haven't told Jeff that I love him. How is that even remotely the same?"

"Well, uh...if you don't love Jeff, you wouldn't be with him this long, so he's gotta be a distraction, right? If he's not a distraction from the Doctor, then who? Josh?"

_Your fiance. _She tensed as that thought entered her mind. Honestly, since she had started dating Jeff, she convinced herself that she had no feelings for Rory whatsoever. _No, no, it was just a crazy thought because you're angry and tired. _She was seriously considering just going to bed before everything got a whole lot worse, but she soon realized the name that Amy had said. "You know how I feel about him, Amy." Her voice shook with anger. "You swore that you wouldn't mention him."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I just had to be sure because there's nobody else! So it's the Doctor, isn't it? You're in love with the Doctor." She pursed her lips, not even bothering to hide the fury and jealousy in her eyes. "Or, you like him or something."

"Where is this even coming from, Amy?" She spat and then groaned in frustration when all she got was an impatient look. "Fine! It's the Doctor!" She lied. At least, she thought and hoped it was a lie. "Happy?" She narrowed her eyes when Amy gave a loud laugh. "What could possibly be funny right now?"

"Nothing!" Still chuckling, she grabbed Emma's hand and patted the back of it in what was supposed to be an affectionate move. "You'd best stick with Jeff."

She tore her hand out of her grasp. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"What, you mean you don't know?" She cleared her throat as her laughter subsided. "Sweetie, the Doctor needs someone who's...strong, carefree, adventurous. You're not exactly the best candidate, y'know?"

"Oh, yeah." She took a few deep breaths to keep herself from blowing up completely. "I understand perfectly. The Doctor needs someone just like you." She mirrored the tight smile that Amy gave her, letting it fall when she turned away. "He definitely needs someone who's carefree, adventurous..." The next word she was going to say was childish and she knew it, but that didn't stop her from saying it. "_Loose_."

"Excuse me?" Amy whirled back around. "I'm sorry, but _what _did you just call me?"

She smirked. "You heard me."

"Oh, like you can talk!" She shot back. "How many guys did you shag after your dad left? Hmm, let's see..." She pretended to think, counting on her fingers. "Josh, Jeff, that guy Jack — what _is it _with you and guys whose names start with J and have four letters in them? — and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you got to the Doctor before me. Is that why he said it wouldn't work between us? Because he's got _you _at his beck and call?"

"Yes, Amy, that's exactly it!" Emma gave a scoffed laugh. "I slept with the Doctor despite the fact that I'm already in a relationship. Oh, wait! I'm not you!" Every blow was low, but both of the girls were too angry to care about what they were saying to each other. "And how many times do I have to tell you? Jack was just some random pervert at the pub who used a line on me, I didn't sleep with him!"

"Whatever! I'm sure you would have if he let you call him 'daddy'."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to find the right words today, before she finally just shook her head and run a hand over her face. "You know what? I'm tired and I don't need this." She stormed out of the room after that, heading towards the control room rather than her bedroom.

"Really? You're just going to walk away after all of those childish things you said to me?"

She jogged down the stairs and gave a bitter laugh, turning around to face her _friend_. "Because all of your words were so mature, huh?"

"You called me loose!"

"You said I'd have sex with a complete stranger if he let me call him 'daddy'!"

"Well, at least I told the truth." The tone of voice she said that in had Emma finally snapping completely.

"You know what, Amy? You can go to hell!"

"Ha, like I'd want to spend eternity in the same place as you!"

"Oi!" They both spun around to see the Doctor standing in the doorway and he made his way to them, the look on his face a mixture of anger and confusion. "Let's not go throwing around words that we're going to regret. What's going on?" The girls started yelling at once and he winced, holding his hands up. "One at a time, _one at a time_! Amy, you first."

"Why does she get to go first?"

He sent Emma a warning look. "Because she does. Amy?"

"I was trying to share something with her, like a normal friend does, but she just went and started attacking me!"

"I'm sorry? You attacked me! I was just defending myself!"

"Stop." They continued to argue, so he stepped between them, raising his hands in the air. "Stop!" He lowered his hands when they both went quiet. "Listen, I'm not entirely sure what could have possibly happened between you two in the ten minutes I was gone, but you're gonna need to put it on hold for a moment." His serious look was replaced with a large grin. "Because, Amy, I've got a surprise for you!" He ran back to the door, doing a spin before he threw it open. "Ta-da!"

Rory stepped inside, looking around in confusion for a moment before his eyes landed on the two girls and his face brightened slightly. "Amy!"

"Rory?" The shock and disappointment was clear in her voice and when he hugged her tightly, she patted his back awkwardly. "You...smell like beer." She pulled back. "Are you drunk?"

"A bit, yeah." He turned to give Emma a goofy grin. "Hi, Emma!" When he saw her glare, his smile faded and he cleared his throat. "Right. Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

* * *

"Oh, the life out there, it dazzles!" The Doctor yelled from beneath the console floor, where something sparked as he worked on it. The other three were above him, Emma standing near Rory while Amy paced back and forth. "I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important! I've seen it devour relationships and plans-" Something on the console nearly exploded and Rory jumped, while the Doctor just looked up through the glass, unable to see Emma's eye roll at his ridiculous goggles. "It's meant to do that." He returned to his work, continuing what he had been saying before. "Because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it _will _tear you apart. So..." He pushed his goggles up onto his head. "I'm sending you somewhere. Together."

"W-wh-what, like a date?" Amy asked, clearly not okay with the idea.

Emma frowned at the slightly hurt look on Rory's face. "'Cause going out on a date with your fiance is _so _terrible?" She called, recieving a glare in return.

"I'd rather you didn't talk to me-"

"Anywhere you want, anytime you want." The Doctor was quick to interrupt, clambering from the harness he'd been hanging from and making his way upstairs. "One condition, it has to be amazing! The Moulin Rouge in eighteen ninety! The first Olympic Games! Think of it as a wedding present, 'cause frankly, it's either this or tokens." He passed by Emma and the console, patting Rory on the arm as he ran up another set of steps. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" He spun around to look down at them. "Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

"It's another dimension." Rory said immediately, almost sounding bored.

"It's basically another dimensi-" He paused halfway down the stairs. "What?"

"After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories; FTL travel, parallel universes."

He stalked all the way down the stairs, honestly looking like he was going to murder Rory as he approached him slowly. "I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside'." They stared each other down. "I always look forward to that."

If Emma hadn't currently been angry at her, she would have thanked Amy for interrupting the two before it could turn into some ridiculous, we-think-we're-being-subtle-but-it's-obvious who's-the-bigger-man contest. "So, this date!" She circled the console to Rory's side. "I'm kinda done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"

"How about somewhere," the Doctor yanked a lever down. "romantic?"

* * *

"Venice! Venetia! La Serenissima!"

Emma turned around to face the Doctor, throwing her arms out to the sides like him, though rather half-heartedly. "Idiota!" She matched his frown with a sarcastic smile before she turned back around. She vaguely heard him rambling on about something, more focused on the clear water in front of her than him. She knew it was wrong to take her anger out on everyone, but it was extremely hard not to, and taking it out on the cause of it would just result in another — probably more violent — fight.

"So," the Doctor appeared beside her, arms crossed over his chest. "what happened between you and Amy? One minute you're best friends, the next you're...not...best friends."

She sighed. "If I speak to you in Italian, will you go away?"

"Nope. I'd just do the same to you." His wide smile turned to a curious look as he watched her. "You speak Italian?"

"My mum wanted me to take up another language and I wasn't interested in French, Spanish, or German, and the only other language my school offered was Italian, so..." She turned to look at him. "Si, io parlo italiano." The words came out crisp and clear, making her furrow her brow. "I could've sworn you mentioned in passing that the TARDIS has a translator. Why didn't that come out in English?"

"You're not speaking Italian like it's your own language yet. You're just saying easily understandable bits and pieces, there's no need to translate." He leaned closer to her and murmured, "You're avoiding my question, by the way."

She gave him a hard smack on the shoulder. "You're the one who changed the subject!"

"Oh. Right." He laughed sheepishly as he rubbed his arm. "Still, are you going to tell me or not?"

"Why don't you go bother _Amy _about this?"

"Because she's on a date with Rory."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow, looking over her shoulder to see that Rory was up against the wall, a probably harmless goat approaching him, and Amy wasn't even paying attention to him, instead glaring daggers at Emma and the Doctor. "Oh, yeah, me and Jeff went on a date like that once. Except he was being attacked by a Malayan porcupine and I was giving the look of death to an old couple that I was jealous of." She walked away after that, ignoring his groan of frustration, only making it so far before a man dressed in black stepped in front of her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" He held his hand up. "Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."

"Oh, I don't have-"

The Doctor slid in front of her, pulling out his psychic paper and flipping it open for the man to read it. "There you go, fella." He let him take the paper from him. "All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

"I am so sorry, Your Holiness." The man gave a bow, handing the psychic paper back. "I didn't realize."

"No worries."

As they spoke, Emma slipped the paper out of the Doctor's hand, looking it over. He was a viscount, Amy was a viscountess, Rory was a eunuch, and she was- well, she was going to murder the Doctor. "I'm your bloody sl-" Her yell was cut off as he put his arm around her neck, pulling her close to his side and slapping his hand over her mouth. He gave a nervous laugh.

"Yes, well, no plague here! Always be plague-free, that's my motto! But I heard the plague died out years ago, anyway."

"Not out there." The man pointed to the world beyond. "No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she, now?" His smile dropped when Emma stomped on his foot and he hid his wince well, but let out a quiet grunt. "Well, if you'll excuse us?" He dragged Emma away, though not before Rory snagged the psychic paper away and they heard him complain about being a eunuch. Once they were in a darker and more secluded part of the market, he released her. "You stomped on my foot!"

"You made me your slave!"

"I couldn't think of anything else!"

"Right, right. You and Amy are all proper, but when it comes to me and Rory, slave and eunuch were the _only things _you could think of?"

"Well..."

"Oh my God!" She slapped his chest as hard she could, ignoring his dramatic cry. "That man thinks I am your Goddamn slave!" She moved to hit him again, but he quickly grabbed a forgotten fruit basket and held it in front of him.

"If it makes you feel any better," he took a step back. "you're Amy's slave, too."

"Oh, yeah! That makes it _loads_ better! I'm the slave of you _and_ the person I'm cross with!"

They started circling each other and he lowered the basket slightly. "You know, I treat you pretty well for a slave, so-"

"You know that she's not _actually_ your slave, right?" Rory shrank back when they both glared at him.

"Shut up, Rory!" They snapped in unison.

Emma opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped when she noticed the commotion happening a little ways away from them. "What's that?" She jogged over to join the crowd that was gathering. Across the canal was a perfect view of a school of some sort, where a woman was leading a line of girls dressed in all white, veils over their faces and parasols in hand. She followed the Doctor, Amy, and Rory a little farther down, leaning over the railing to get a better look as a man ran up to the girls. He ignored the head woman's protests and began lifting each girl's veil.

"Isabella! Isabella!" When he finally found the girl he was looking for, he stopped, only to fall back when another girl stepped forward.

"What the hell?" Emma murmured beneath her breath, turning her head to see that the Doctor was beginning to walk off. "Oi!" She hissed and ran after him. "Where on earth are you going?"

He barely cast her a look over his shoulder. "I thought you were mad at me."

"No." She rolled her eyes, falling into a fast walk beside him. "You are most definitely not the one that I'm mad at today. Was I annoyed? Yes. Am I going to hold it over your head? No. Not right now, anyway." She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, where are we..." She trailed off when she spotted the man that had been across the canal. "Ah."

"Who were those girls?" The Doctor hopped onto the bottom step of some stairs nearby, making the man stop halfway through the alley he'd been walking down. He looked between the two for a moment before saying,

"I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."

"Our first day here." He jumped off the step and approached the man, almost too close for comfort. "Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion."

"Oi, watch it!" As a man practically shoved Emma away and squeezed through the alley, the Doctor lowered his voice to a whisper.

"So, why are you trying to get her out?"

"Something happens in there. Something magical. Something evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face...like an animal." The fear on the man's face was obvious and the Doctor wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I think it's time I met this Signora Calvierri."

* * *

"You have my daughter. Isabella!" As Guido, who had introduced himself moments before, distracted the guard at the front gate of the school, Emma held tightly to the Doctor's hand — as per his orders. When the three had come up with the plan, he told her that he didn't need them getting separated and she actually agreed easily, as she didn't want to be murdered by girls with animal-like faces — and let him lead her toward the side gate. He let go of her hand to use his screwdriver on the lock, doing it behind his back to try and be non-chalant in case anyone was watching. The gate creaked open and he stepped backwards through it, making some sort of hand signal.

"What?" She shook her head, brow furrowing. "What...what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, just come here!" He threw his hands up in the air as he turned around. "I don't know why I even bother trying with you people." It wasn't until they were 'safely' inside that Guido ceased his yelling. They rushed down most of the stairs that lead into the building, but the Doctor paused for a moment before jumping over the last four or so steps.

"God!" Emma walked down after him. "How are your bones still intact?"

He turned around and shushed her, holding a finger to his lips. "Quiet." They made their way into a larger room, where he did a spin and then froze when he spotted a mirror on one of the walls. "Hello, handsome." He grinned, stepping up to it. He was too busy straightening his tie and checking his teeth to see Emma let her head thump back against the wall. That's when she saw them, a few of the girls dressed in white.

"Doctor?" She inched along the wall toward him, reaching out to tap him on the arm.

"Oh, hush." He swatted her hand away. "You can check yourself in a minute, other people need to look good, too-"

"Who are you?" The five girls chorused and he stopped, spinning around quickly.

"Oh." He turned back towards the mirror, which showed there was nothing behind him. He turned to face the girls again, then the mirror, pointing at it in confusion. "But..." He did that a few more times before facing them again. "How are you doing that?"

"Doing _what_, Doctor? What are they-" Emma's words caught in her throat when he turned her to face the mirror. "Oh. _Oh_. Oh!" She was soon pointing at the girls much like the Doctor had been before.

"I am _loving _it! You're like..." He held his arms up. "Houdini, only five slightly scary girls, only he was shorter. _Will be _shorter." He clapped his hands together, smile growing as he stepped forward. "I'm rambling."

"I'll ask you again, signor," the girls continued to speak in unison. "who are you?"

"Check _this _out." He took another step forward, whipping out his psychic paper. It had a picture of his first regeneration on it and one of the girls narrowed her eyes, so he turned it around. "Library card. Of course, it's with...he...I need the spare." He gave up, shoving the paper back into his jacket. "Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight-"

"Or hairbrushes."

He gave Emma a nod of approval. "Or hairbrushes, and can't be seen in..." He turned to the mirror with a smirk on his face before he gave a short laugh. "Am I thinking what I think I'm thinking? No! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked her, the words jumbling together as he rushed them out.

"Um," she drawled. "that you've somehow landed us in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?"

"Yes, exactly!" They both grinned and high-fived each other, their smiles fading when they remembered where they were. "Uh, right." He cleared his throat almost awkwardly. "Why shut down the city?"

"Leave now, signor and signora, or we shall call for the steward," the girls gave them the creepiest grins they could manage. "if you are lucky."

The Doctor's smile came back, the idea seeming to excite him. "Ooh." His eyes widened slightly when the girls grew fangs and hissed, stalking towards them. "Hmm, yes, it's time to go!" He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, though, pushing Emma a few steps up so she was behind him. "Tell me the whole plan!" The girls just hissed again. "One day that will work. Listen, I would love to stay here. This whole thing...I'm thrilled!" He backed up the stairs, pushing Emma with him. "Oh, this is Christmas!" He turned around and they ran as quickly as they could.

"Doctor, there are _vampires_!" Emma shouted once they were far enough away from the school. He turned around to grin at her, jogging backwards.

"I know!" He laughed. "Isn't that amazing!"

"I have been waiting for this day since I was twelve-years-old!" She was so excited for a moment that her mood didn't even drop when an equally excited Amy ran over to them.

"Doctor!" She grabbed onto the Doctor's arms as he grabbed onto hers. "We just saw a vampire."

"We just met some vampires!"

They both started speaking at once, shaking each other almost violently when Amy spotted Emma and she actually grinned. "Vampires!"

"I know!" She smiled back, joining hands with her. "Remember when we were kids and we would watch Buffy and swore we would become slayers? We can do that now!" She practically screamed and, for one moment, their friendship was back as they jumped up and down together. But it didn't last for long, the fight from earlier was soon remembered by both of them and they jerked apart just as Rory ran up to them, out of breath.

"We just saw a vampire!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know." The Doctor spoke like stating that fact made him an idiot. "Amy was just telling us."

"Yeah." Amy purposely pushed Emma out of the way, wrapping an arm around the Doctor's shoulders. "The Doctor actually went to their house."

Rory almost looked sad. "Oh. Right. Well..."

"So," the Doctor patted him on the cheeks. "first we need to get back in there and..." He trailed off when he saw the Amy and Emma were standing several feet apart, glaring at each other. "Oh, no, no, no, come on!" He wrapped an arm around each of them, trying to bring them closer. "No! Wh-what happened to the friendship? You know, with the jumping and the slayer stuff! Vampires! Exciting, yeah?" His smile faded so he looked almost as grumpy as they did. "That was just a momentary thing? Yes? Okay." He pulled back, continuing what he was saying before with a bit less enthusiasm. "We need to get back in there somehow."

"What?" Rory squeaked while Amy asked, almost begrudgingly,

"How do we do that?"

"Back in where?"

"Come and meet mine and Emma's new friend." He moved to run off and hesitated when Emma stomped ahead of them all, walking quickly. "Alrighty, then." He made his way after her, Rory close behind and Amy taking up the rear.

"Doctor, I'm not all that fond of you, but I think you should know...they're gonna be fine."

He looked up at Rory, who was now walking beside him. "Sorry?"

"Amy and Emma." He said as if it were obvious, which it really was. "I don't know what they're fighting about, but no matter how bad it is, they're always fine." He was keeping his voice low to make sure neither of the girls heard. "They're like sisters, almost. They'll make up soon, they've never fought for more than a day, maybe two. They'll be fine."

The Doctor sighed and looked over his shoulder at Amy before turning to watch Emma as she kicked something small on the ground. "I certainly hope so, Rory."

* * *

**A/N - I hope that wasn't too confusing and Amy and Emma's fight made sense. Again, I'm so tired. Maybe I should write these things in the daytime? Well, I mean...I wrote the first half in the daytime, so I only have myself to blame if it's confusing :P Oh, and I promise, Emma will get her rest once this episode is through. Promise. And now I shall leave you to ponder: Who is Josh? And that 'random pervert' Jack ;)**


	18. They're Not Vampires, They're Aliens

**A/N - So, I've been watching Party Animals (there's only 8 episodes what a heartbreaking thing ugh) and I totally want Emma and Danny to meet and have sex and have lots of babies mmm yes. I've actually been writing some Emma/Danny oops I'm a bad person. Anywho, thank you to skidney, xxOMGgalxx, grapejuice101, 11Dr. Luv, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, SplendiferousBowties, Esther, and Tayla for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_And I don't know what the final score is  
All I know is  
These days I'm quite over it_

* * *

"Hey, Barrel Boy." Emma climbed up on the barrel next to Rory, while Amy, the Doctor, and Guido looked over a map.

"Wouldn't that make you Barrel Girl, then?"

"Hmm, I suppose it does." She laughed. "The Adventures of Barrel Boy and Barrel Girl, disguising themselves as barrels because they don't really want to deal with the bad guys whatsoever. That won't save many lives."

"Actually, people could hide inside us."

"What happens if we turn back while they're inside us?"

"Uh...we sing I've Got You Under My Skin?"

"_I've got you deep in the heart of me_." She sang and they shared a quiet laugh. "That just takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it?"

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" Amy's yell caught their attention.

"We pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."

"No." She rolled her eyes. "Emma will pretend to be an applicant."

Anger flashed in Emma's eyes and she jumped right off of the barrel, stalking towards the table. "Like hell! You can be the one to go in there, I can assure you that I'm not going to protest to that."

"Fine. I guess _I'll _have to be the hero." Her holier-than-thou tone would have had Emma launching at her, but the Doctor's hand went around her wrist before she could even lift a toe off the floor.

"Are you insane?" Rory nearly shouted from where he was still sitting.

Amy turned around to face him, scratching the back of her head. "We don't have another option." She cleared her throat and glared pointedly at Emma.

"He said _no_, Amy! Listen to him."

"There _is _another option." Guido interrupted, raising a finger before pointing toward the stack of barrels. Rory thought he meant him and pointed to himself. "I work at the Arsenale. We built the warships for the navy." As he spoke, the Doctor released Emma and walked over to the barrels to sniff them.

"Gunpowder." He placed a hand on Rory's shoulder, not noticing his terrified look. "Most people just nick stationary from where they work." He walked back to the table and Rory slowly slid off of the barrel. "Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosives."

Emma's lips nearly twitched into a smile when Rory backed into a dead rabbit that was hanging in front of the fireplace. "Rory, come here before you destroy the whole house, you idiot." She didn't have to tell him twice and he quickly ran to her side. She noticed Amy's glare harshen, but she ignored it just to piss her off more.

"What do you suggest, then?" Guido slammed his palm onto the table. "We wait until they turn her into an animal?" He turned around, poking at the fire.

"I'll be there three, four hours tops?" Amy continued, despite the dramatic eye roll that Rory gave, and the Doctor started to smile, but soon snapped out of it.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, it can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." The Doctor sat on the bed that was off to the side of the room, putting his head in one of his hands for a moment. "I have to know, we go together. Say you're my daughter."

"What?" Rory snapped. "Don't listen to him!" He moved around the table to stand with Amy, who didn't even pay him any attention.

"Daughter? You look about nine."

The Doctor folded his hands in front of him, shrugging. "Brother, then."

"Too weird. Fiance."

"Uh, I'm not having him run around telling people _he's_ your fiance."

"No. No, you're right." Amy admitted after a moment, sliding off of the table.

"Thank you."

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor." She stepped up to face him. "You should do it."

Rory almost scoffed. "Me?"

"Yeah! You can be my brother." She ruffled his hair as if he were actually her brother and the Doctor laughed, though he tried to cover it up with a clear of his throat. Emma, however, heard it and glared at him, not exactly appreciating how he treated Rory. He gave her the most innocent look he could manage.

"Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's okay?"

"Actually," Guido pointed between Amy and Rory, to the Doctor. "I thought you _were _her fiance."

"Uh, Guido, that's really not helping." Emma told him with an apologetic look. It wasn't his fault that he thought that, it was Amy's for acting like she was engaged to the Doctor rather than Rory.

"This whole thing is _mental_!" Rory yelled. "They're _vampires_, for God's sake!"

"We hope."

Rory opened his mouth to say something, but Amy beat him to it. "So, if they're not vampires..."

"Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire." The Doctor bared his top teeth to try and mimic fangs, which caused an awkward silence to fill the room.

"Yeah, okay." Amy nodded. "Guido, me and Rory could probably use some clothes."

"Of course, follow me."

Emma sat on the bed next to the Doctor. "So, do you have this incessant need to be the bigger man?"

"Well..." His smirk quickly dropped and he cleared his throat again. "I mean, no." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason." She leaned back, folding her hands on her stomach much like him. "Just making observations."

* * *

Next thing Emma knew, she was squished between Rory and the Doctor in a gondola as Guido rowed them to the school, now wearing Rory's clothes as Rory was wearing his. Amy had gotten into the school easier than expected, now all they had to do was hope that they could get her out before she got eaten by vampires. Emma shivered despite the fact that she was pressed between two warm bodies and the Doctor even held a flaming torch in his hand. Who knew Venice could get so cold at night?

"She'll be fine."

"You can promise me that, can you?" Rory shot back quickly and the Doctor turned his head to look at him.

"We don't need two more people fighting, okay?" Emma's teeth chattered slightly as she spoke. She felt the Doctor move a bit closer to her, but she assumed he was just adjusting his position, probably already bored from sitting in the gondola. "If we all fight, we're going to end up separated and die. Is that what you w-want?"

They remained silent after that and a few moments later, Guido stopped rowing and said, "We're here." The Doctor was the first out of the gondola, opening up a creaking gate that lead up a set of stone stairs, followed by closely by Rory and Emma.

"Okay, I'll go first and if anything happens to me-"

"What happened?" Rory interrupted him as they continued up the stairs. "Between you and Amy?" Evidently, he was not taking Emma's words to heart. "You said she kissed you!"

"Now?" He whispered back. "You want to do this _now_?" He shook his head and jogged up a set of wooden stairs, but Rory wasn't going to be shaken off that easily.

"I have a right to know! I'm getting married in four hundred and thirty years!"

Emma gave the quietest groan she could manage as she followed them into a narrow passageway. "Just give it up, Rory! Now's _really_ not the time."

"Well..."

"Doctor, don't you dare."

"You see..."

"Doctor!"

"She was very afraid that Emma was going to die and she was grateful to me for taking care of her, so she...kissed me."

"She used me as a bloody-" Emma snapped her mouth shut, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm herself. It wasn't exactly working. "Taking care of me?" She murmured under her breath. "Yeah, what you did totally qualified as taking care of me."

"And you kissed her back?"

"No, I kissed her mouth."

"Funny."

"Rory." He stopped walking, holding the torch up to prevent Rory from going any further. "Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you," he smacked him on the chest before he continued walking. "it _should _have been you."

"Yeah, it should've been me."

"Exactly. That's why I've brought you here." A gust of wind came out of nowhere, blowing the torch out completely. "Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" He whispered. "And who's holding my hand?"

"Oh, that's you?" Emma yanked her hand out of his. "Sorry, instinct. I'm not the biggest fan of the dark, alright?"

"'Course you're not." His light chuckle would have gotten him a kick in the rear end if Emma could actually see where he was. They made their way a little farther down the dark passage until they spotted the grating above them. "Alright, I'll head up first. Rory, give me a hand, would you?" There was some rustling before, "I'd appreciate if your hand wasn't _there_."

"Oh, sorry." After some struggling, the Doctor climbed atop his shoulders and pushed half of the grate up, even stepping on the poor guy's head as he pulled himself up.

"Okay, send Emma up next." He leaned over the edge, holding his hands out and grunting when he started to pull Emma up. He helped her off of what looked to be a well before he looked around. "Amy? Where's Amy?"

Emma was trying to get Rory out on her own, seeing as the Doctor seemed to have forgotten him, but she didn't have nearly enough strength. "Doctor! Get back here!"

"Hmm? Oh, right, Rory!" He rushed back over and grabbed onto part of Rory's shirt, both of them hauling him up with only a bit of difficulty. "There we are! Now, where's Amy? I can't see a thing!"

"Just as well. I brought this, then." Rory turned on a torch that he had apparently been carrying in his pocket. It was about the size of his smallest finger.

The Doctor and Emma eyed the tiny torch for a moment before the former reached into his jacket and pulled out a long, very bright torch. "Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight."

"How in the hell did you fit that in there?" Emma asked just as Rory frowned and said, "Yours is bigger than mine."

"Let's not go there."

Emma, who had been pulling the Doctor's jacket open to try and see how big of a pocket he had in there, paused when she heard that. "Really?" She scoffed and stepped back, giving them each a slap across the back of the head. She ignored the fact that they cried out at the same time. "I'd surprisingly much rather find Amy right now than have you two yanking down your trousers so you can have me judge exactly whose is bigger. And, no, Doctor," she held a finger up when he opened his mouth. "I'm not going to believe you if you say that you were just talking about your torches. I'm twenty-two, not ten." She narrowed her eyes when the two boys went suspiciously quiet, just looking at each other. "What are you-"

"Mine is bigger!"

"Mine is convenient for small pockets!"

"Oh, God, stop it! That just sounds...no." She ran her hands over her face. "Like the Doctor said, let's _not _go there." She looked between them to make sure they were finished and sighed in relief when the Doctor walked off. "Come on, Rory, you have a fiance to save." She said the word _fiance _in disgust, unsure of whether it was from being angry at Amy or if she really did still have feelings for Rory. She didn't have much time to think about it, though, as a look of complete dismay appeared on his face. "What?"

"If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall, the salsa band!"

She fought the sudden urge to slap her forehead — or, possibly, his — and made her way over to where the Doctor was opening a chest. "Did you find treasure?" Her eyes practically tripled in size when he threw the lid open to reveal a skeleton with fangs and all on top of more remains. "That's not treasure."

"What happened to them?" Rory whispered, staying back out of fear of getting any closer.

The Doctor barely spared him a glance. "They've had all the moisture taken out of them."

"That's what vampires do, right? They drink your blood and replace it with their own."

"No." Emma rolled her eyes. "They either empty you out or they drink until your heart has nearly stopped, then they feed you some of their blood, and _then_ you're turned into a vamp..." She trailed off when she noticed them giving her strange looks. "But that's from a fictional world and I'm going to stop talking now."

"These people haven't just had their blood taken," the Doctor continued. "but all the water in their entire bodies."

"Why did they die? Why aren't they like the girls in the school?" Rory took a slightly cautious step forward

"Maybe not everyone survives the process."

He looked away for a moment before he turned away, throwing his arms up in frustration. He walked a few feet and then spun around, pointing straight at the Doctor. "You- you know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks." He lowered his arm once the Doctor had looked up at him. "It's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have _no idea _how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around."

"Rory." Emma warned, seeing the sad, almost hurt look on the Doctor's face. "Just calm down-"

"Oh, don't even start!" He turned on her, possibly angrier with her than he had been with the Doctor. "I've been trying to act civil to you, but you're no better than Amy is right now! For God's sake, you have a boyfriend back home! Have you even thought about Jeff in all this?"

She reached up to grab the pendant of her necklace. "Of course-"

"Of course?" He scoffed. "What? You had a brief thought of him when you were being kidnapped by man-eating aliens, or ghosts, or something? You're giving up one of the few good things in your life, for what? So you can end up in _his_ arms?" He gestured almost violently towards the Doctor. "Probably _dead_? If Amy makes it out of this alive, I'm taking the _both of you _home before he gets you killed."

"And if she doesn't make it out alive?"

He shook his head. "Don't."

"No, I'm serious." Her jaw clenched as she attempted to keep her anger at least slightly at bay. "You'd just leave me with him, wouldn't you? Because if Amy's not in the picture, I'm not even important-"

"Who are you?" Several voices chorused and the three scrambled into the middle of the room as the vampire girls came from another room. The Doctor held up his torch and they backed off, hissing.

"We should run. Run!" The Doctor took off and Emma and Rory didn't hesitate to follow. They ran for a while, until Rory tripped over something and broke whatever it was. "Ah, Rory, come on!" They helped him up and continued to run, only stopping when they found that the corridor was blocked by three people, one of which was Signora Calvierri. One of the men who was with her was eyeing Emma in a way that made her severely uncomfortable and apparently the Doctor wasn't a fan of it either, stepping in front of her and practically squeaking out, "Cab for Amy Pond?" A hissing came from behind them and they spun around to find that the girls had caught up to them.

"This rescue plan," Signora Calvierri turned to the two men. "not exactly watertight, is it?"

The Doctor gave a loud laugh and raised his torch, waving it at them. Amy and Isabella ran in from another room, the former grabbing onto her fiance. "Rory!"

"Amy!"

"Quickly, through here!" Isabella yelled before heading back in the direction they came. Amy and Rory ran after her, followed quickly by Emma and soon the Doctor. As the others headed down the stairs, he shut the door and locked it with his sonic.

"They're not vampires!"

"What?"

"I saw them, I saw her. They're not vampires. They're aliens!"

"Classic." He laughed, heading down the stairs to find that Rory had stopped.

"That's _good _news? What is wrong with you people?"

The aliens could be heard trying to break through the door and he practically pushed him down the stairs, wanting to get everyone out. "Come on, move!" They headed down a corridor. The aliens had already broken through, Signora Calvierri's son, Francesco, leading the others with a flaming torch. The Doctor turned around for a moment to hold up his torch again, making him reel back. "Keep moving!" He ran off. "Come on, guys!"

Isabella threw the door open, urging everyone out. "Quickly! Get out! Quick!" Once everyone was out, she moved to step out herself, but the sunlight burned her and she fell back. The Doctor ran to help her, but she was being dragged inside.

"Come on, run!"

"I can't!" The door slammed shut and he pounded on it. Suddenly, the door was electrified and the electrcity ran from it to him, causing him to convulse for a moment before he stumbled back, grabbing onto the railing of the stairs. He fell halfway down them before he stopped moving completely and Rory ran to him, checking for a pulse. Emma and Amy actually exchanged a civil look before the latter asked,

"Is he dead?"

"No, he's breathing."

Both girls gave sighs of relief and Emma ran up the stairs, crouching down in the small space that was left. "Doctor?" Her fingertips grazed his cheek lightly before she pulled her hand back and gave him a hard slap across the face. He shot up, nearly knocking foreheads with her and smiling, breath puffing against her lips as he stared into her eyes. "Doctor-"

"Thanks for that!" He leaned up and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Now, I need to have a little chat with Signora Calvierri!" He hopped over the rest of the steps, running off without another word.

"But you were just...electrocuted?"

* * *

**A/N - The next chapter is the last of The Vampires of Venice! And I've decided to save the original chapter until AFTER Amy's Choice, because I'm just too excited to wait to write that one :P Spelling mistakes are, once again, from being tired.**


	19. And Rory Makes Four

**A/N - We've reached the end of The Vampires of Venice! I'm almost sad that it's over :( Thank you to Little Nerdling, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, grapejuice101, xxOMGgalxx, SplendiferousBowties, and skidney for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_How much pain has cracked your soul?  
How much love would make you whole?  
You're my guiding lightning strike_

* * *

The Doctor used his sonic to scan and heal the bite on Amy's neck, giving the screwdriver a shake to check the readings. "You're fine." He nearly sighed in relief. "Open wide." He pulled a candy out of his pocket and popped it into her mouth before he started pacing, giving a yell of frustration. "I need to think. Come on, brain, think, think! Think!" He sat at the table. "Think!"

"If they're fish people, it explains why they hate the sun." Amy looked down when his hand slipped over her mouth.

"Stop talking, brain thinking, hush."

"It's the school thing I don't understand-"

He put his other hand over Rory's mouth. "Stop talking, brain thinking, hush."

"I say we take the fight to them!" Guido cut in.

"Ah, ah, ah!"

"What?"

"Ah!" The Doctor switched his gaze from him to Rory, giving him a nod to cover Guido's mouth, which he hesitantly did.

"Well, maybe we could just..." Emma soon trailed off when he gave her a glare. "Alright, alright." She put her own hand over her mouth and he gave a satisfied smile before he continued.

"Her planet dies, so they flee through a crack in space and time, and end up here, then she closes of the city and, one by one, changes people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool. Got it. Then what? They come from the sea, they can't survive forever on land, so what's she going to do?" He paused as he thought, his eyes on Amy. "Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable...she said, 'I shall bend the Heavens to save my race'." His hands tightened on Amy's and Rory's mouths for a moment. "Bend the Heavens." He moved his hands to the tops of their heads to make them nod. "_Bend the Heavens_." Realization dawned on his face. "She's going to sink Venice."

"She...she's going to sink Venice?" Guido asked when Rory had lowered his hand.

"And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed."

"You can't populate somewhere with just women." Rory said. "You need...blokes."

"She's got blokes!"

The Doctor raised his head to look at Amy again. "Where?"

"In the canal. She said to me, 'There are ten thousand husbands waiting in the water'."

"Only the male offspring survived the journey here! She's got ten thousand children swimming in the canals, waiting for Mum to make them some compatible girlfriends. Ew." He cringed in disgust. "I mean, I've been around a bit, but, really, that's...that's...Ew." There was a clatter from above them and they all looked up. "The people upstairs are very noisy."

"There aren't any people upstairs."

"I knew he was going to say that! Did anyone else know he was going to say that?" He looked around the table for support, pausing when he noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Emma? Emma?" He leaned over to look beneath the table. "Where did she go? Emma, is that you up there?" He yelled, standing so she could hear him better in case she was the one up there. "Em-" There was suddenly a crash as some of the fish girls came into the room, while some others broke the window open.

"Aren't we on the second floor?"

* * *

Emma walked away from Guido's home, fighting back tears. In all honesty, she hadn't been listening to the Doctor, as that had been the point when Rory's words started to sink in and repeated in her head over and over. _You're giving up one of the few good things in your life, for what? So you can end up in _his _arms? Probably _dead_? _His words had been cruel, but she knew they were true. She was no better than Amy, leaving Jeff without a word just so she could travel with the Doctor. There was a good chance it would end in her death since it was so dangerous, but she never really thought about it until Rory brought it up.

As she came to the canal across from the school, she heard crackling above her and looked up to see that the sky had gone grey. It wasn't like a normal storm, however, clouds nearly rolling and lightning striking every few seconds. "What the hell?" She didn't notice Francesco see her across the canal, nor did she notice him taking off his hat and cape and diving into the water. She dashed off back in the direction she came from, intent on finding the Doctor and berating herself in her head for even leaving in the first place. It took her a few moments to realize that she had no idea where she was going. "Damn it!" She looked in every direction before she headed down an alley that she thought seemed familiar. She only made it about halfway and then there was a hand wrapped tightly around her throat, shoving her against the wall so she came face to face with Francesco, who was dripping wet.

"Don't cry out for help." His tone would have been comforting if he hadn't been the most discomforting being to ever grace the planet. "No one will hear you." He nearly purred, pressing himself sickeningly close to her. "Not the redhead, nor her bumbling idiot of a _brother_, nor that moron in the bow tie." He smirked. "Not even a kind stranger. Did you think I wouldn't notice you?" His free hand reached up to stroke her face with the backs of his fingers. She cringed at that and his grip tightened, making her gasp out and grab at his hand, trying to pry it from around her throat. "I notice everything I like, you know, but I didn't get a chance to tell Mother that I liked you. Shame. You and the redhead could have had my children." He released her and she tried to run, but he quicky caught her around the waist and threw her back up against the wall, this time pinning her wrists to it. "At least I can have the satisfaction of drinking from you." He bared his fangs. "I'm _so _thirsty."

"No, no, no, please-" She cried out when she felt his teeth sink into her skin. The pain was worse than she had ever imagined it would be, but she knew it was far different than anything fictional and had to remind herself that he wasn't a vampire, but a fish. Just when she thought he was going to kill her, someone was shoving between them and there Rory was, holding up two candlesticks like a cross.

"Emma, go with Amy! Run!" His cross only distracted Francesco long enough for Emma to stumble away and grab onto Amy's hand before he swiped the candlesticks away. He headed towards the two girls with a grin as they backed against the wall. "This way, you freak! Don't! This...this...this way, you big, stupid, great...SpongeBob! The only thing I've seen uglier than you is...your mum." That made him stop and turn to Rory, who quickly realized what he said, raising his hands. "No..."

"Did you just say something about Mummy?"

He reached out and grabbed a broom, holding it out like a sword. "Ha!" He did several bad moves with it and Francesco just looked on before pulling out a real sword, making him yell out in fear. "Uh..." He said as Francesco handled the real sword far better than he'd been with the broom. He jumped forward to attack him, but he quickly held up the broom to protect himself.

"Careful!" Amy yelled. The two fought for a few moments as Rory backed up to stay in front of her and Emma. "Hit him!" He sent the bristle side into Francesco's chest. "Oh, for the love of..." She lead Emma to another courtyard, calling out, "This way, bring him this way!" They headed up a set of stairs. "Rory!" She looked to Emma in panic when she got progressively paler and sat on one of the steps, a hand held to the bite on her neck. In the courtyard over, Rory had wrapped Francesco in a drape for a moment, his broom having been cut in half.

"Ew!" He stumbled back towards where the girls were. "You stink of fish."

"Well, I'm hardly going to smell of cheese and biscuits."

As Rory backed away, he tripped and fell back, hitting his head on the ground. "Ow!" His cry of pain quickly turned into a scream when Francesco changed to his true form and pounced on him.

"Hey!" Amy fumbled in her pocket for her compact mirror, opening it and holding it up. "Mummy's boy!" He looked up and the light of the sun reflected from the mirror onto him, which made him explode into a cloud of dust.

Rory sat up, looking around before he noticed what he was covered in. "Oh." He nearly gagged, wiping the dust from himself. "Oh!"

"That was lucky." Amy snapped the mirror shut. "Why did you make the sign of the cross, you numpty?"

"Oh. Oh, right." He began to stalk up the stairs. "I'm being reviewed now, am I?" To his surprise, she met him halfway and kissed him.

"I'm glad you guys are acting engaged again, but I'm sort of bleeding out over here." Emma reminded them, keeping her one hand against her wound while the other gripped the railing of the stairs tightly. The two were at her side in an instant, Rory pulling her hand away from her neck to reveal her blood-covered palm and the blood that was sliding from the bite to her collarbone.

Amy's eyes widened. "I didn't bleed nearly that much. What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's _wrong_ with me." Emma rolled her eyes half-heartedly. "You were bitten for the sole purpose of being turned into a fish, he just wanted to kill me. Plus, _somebody _shoved him away which made his teeth tear out rather than be pulled out." She gave Rory a glare and he looked away sheepishly. "Anyway, I think now's a really good time to apologize for the stupid things I said to you. I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean any of it. I was just tired and angry, it made me lash out, I guess."

"Are you kidding? I should be the one who's sorry! The things I said to you..." She trailed off after that, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry, too."

"I'm sorry for the things I said...about the Doctor and you." Rory added in, glancing nervously at her before looking back to Emma. "I don't even have a good excuse for it."

"It's fine, Rory." She laughed despite the pain. "I mean, you were sort of right. Look at me. I'm bleeding to death." They sat in silence for a few seconds before she felt a sharp pinch on her arm and she cried out, turning to look at Amy in surprise. "Ow! What was that for?"

As she wound her scarf from around her neck and folded it up, she said, "You're not dying yet, okay?" She handed Rory her scarf and it took him a moment to realize what he was meant to do with it, and he pressed it to Emma's neck. "We have to help the Doctor." She helped her to her feet, slinging one arm around her shoulders while Rory took the other.

"You guys aren't going to let me die in peace, are you?" She asked as they helped her down the stairs.

"When have we ever let you do _anything _in peace?" Rain started to pour while people screamed.

They moved as fast as they could and when they made it to the school, they staggered into the side entrance as the Doctor came from the front. "Get out!" He ran to the throne. "I need to stabilize the storm."

"We're not leaving you!"

"Right." He spun back around, stalking towards Rory, anger clear on his face. "So, one minute it's, 'You make people a danger to themselves,' and the next it's, 'We're not leaving you!' But if one of you gets squashed, or blown up, or eaten, who gets..." He trailed off when he noticed Emma. "What happened-" The whole room shook violently and some of the ceiling crumbled as they all fell to the floor. He was back on his feet before the shaking stopped, and even when it did, the other three stayed on the floor for a while longer.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Bit of an earthquake."

"An earthquake?" Amy snapped, pushing to her feet and leaning over to help Rory pull Emma up.

"Manipulate the elements, it can trigger earthquakes. But don't worry about them."

"No?"

"No. Worry about the tidal waves caused by the earthquake." He turned back around to face the throne. "Right, Rosanna's throne is the control hub, but she's locked the program, so tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy. Hit it with a stick, anything." He ran to the throne and Amy and Rory ran after, helping Emma sit down on the floor beside it. "We need it to shut down and re-route control to the secondary hub, which I'm guessing will also be the generator. Hurry!" He ran off after that, leaving them to do as he said. Sparks flew from the chair each time a wire was pulled and after a few minutes of the Doctor being gone, the bell that had been ringing loudly suddenly stopped and Emma rose to her feet.

"Where are you going?" She heard Amy yell.

"Outside." She held the scarf tightly to her neck as she made her way to the door, grabbing onto the wall for support until she made it out. Amy and Rory were beside her in an instant, looking up at the bell tower to find that the Doctor was climbing up to the very top of the roof.

"There he is!" Rory yelled. "Come on!" They watched with bated breath as he opened the sphere at the top of the building. "Come on! Come on!" He finally touched something and after a second or two, the rain lightened before the sky cleared completely. When the rain stopped falling on their faces, Amy and Rory shared a laugh before they were squishing Emma between them in a tight hug. "He did it!" Rory looked up to the Doctor. "You did it!"

"He did it." Emma smiled. "Now, can I have some juice or maybe, I don't know, a blood transfusion?"

* * *

Emma looked up from where she sat on a set of steps as the Doctor walked up to her. Amy and Rory were a few feet away, holding hands and whispering to each other, laughing every so often. "Now, let's have a look at this." He had to peel the scarf away and she winced slightly, to which he muttered an apology. "Who got a hold of you, then? Couldn't be one of the girls, you left before they could get to you."

"One of Signora Calvierri's sons, actually, the one who ran the school with her." She brushed her hair back as he pulled out his sonic to use it on the bite. "He wanted Amy and me to have his kids, you know. How upsetting, I was actually considering it before he went and tried to kill me." She laughed at the alarm on his face. "I'm kidding, Doctor! I don't want to give birth to a sharp-toothed fish." He stared at her for a moment before he smiled softly and shook his head. "What happened to Rosanna, by the way?"

His smile faded slightly. "She died." He cleared his throat and changed the subject quickly as he shoved his sonic back into his pocket. "Good as new, but I'm afraid I can't do anything about the bruising." He eyed the hand-shaped bruises that were appearing on her neck, his lips pulling into a frown. "How are you feeling?" He grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet.

"Tired and weak. I want juice."

"Ah, hold on!" He began searching through his jacket. "Apple, orange, or tropical?"

She almost laughed, but decided to humor him. "Tropical." Her eyes went wide and she fumbled to catch the juicebox he tossed to her. "How did you...and it's cold! Do you have a refrigerator in there or are your nipples ice cubes?" She couldn't help but smile when he laughed loudly.

"Emma!" She looked up as Amy and Rory bounded over to them. "Settle this for us: who do you like better? Me, Rory, or the Doctor?"

"Well," she shoved the straw into the box and took a long sip before saying, "I like you all equally, in the way that I don't like any of you all the much." She reached up to pat the Doctor's chest. "But he's winning right now."

He gave a smug smile. "Well, yeah, I'm always winning, right?"

"...and suddenly Amy takes the lead."

"Hey-" His offended look was replaced with one of realization as he looked between the two girls. "You're friends again? No more fighting?"

They exchanged a smile and a nod. "No more fighting."

"Wonderful!" He clapped his hands together. "Now that Venice is saved and we're all together, let's head out!" He lead them back to where he'd parked the TARDIS. "What about you two, eh?" He asked, referring to Amy and Rory. "Next stop, Leadworth Register Office? Maybe I can give you away."

Rory saw the disappointed look on his fiancee's face and threw his hands up. "It's fine. Drop me back where you found me, I'll just say you've-"

"Stay!" Amy interrupted him with a smile, obviously okay with him being there unlike marrying him. "With us, please." She looked to the Doctor. "Just for a bit. I want you to stay."

"Yeah, Rory." Emma leaned against the TARDIS. "We could use another man around here to remind the Doctor that he's not the only one with a _torch_." She smirked when both men blushed slightly.

"It's fine with me." The Doctor said and all four of them exchanged large smiles.

"Yeah?" Rory nodded excitedly. "Yes, I would like that."

"Nice one!" Amy leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. "I will pop the kettle on. Hey, look at this!" She looked to Emma as she began to unlock the TARDIS. "Got our spaceship, got our boys. Our work here is done." She threw her head back and headed inside.

Rory looked between Emma and the Doctor, scoffing. "We are not your boys."

"Yeah, you are." She grinned, sticking her straw in her mouth before walking into the TARDIS.

"Yeah, we are." The Doctor patted him on the shoulder and he immediately agreed as they made their way into the ship together. He suddenly stopped and pulled him back. "Rory, listen to that."

"What?" He gave him a confused look. "All I can hear is...silence." He shrugged and stepped inside.

The Doctor hesitated a moment before walking in after him and shutting the door. "Kitchen's up the stairs and through the hallway. If you find the ball pit room, you've gone too far."

"You have a ball pit room and I've never been in it?" Emma asked from where she was slumped in the jumpseat. "That's just criminal."

"Ball python pit." He whispered, glancing towards the stairs to make sure Rory had already gone. "I didn't want to tell him." He shook his head and held his hands up when her jaw dropped open. "They're friendly, believe me! I'm just afraid he'd get scared, fall in, spook them, and cause them to lash out and bite him. Not so friendly then...you know, I had an anaconda once!"

"Mhm." She placed her near-empty juice box on the floor, nestling further into the chair.

"Two, actually. One was called Annie and the other was..." He snapped his fingers a couple of times, turning to face the console. "Barney, that's it! I couldn't keep them, though. They started having children and you can imagine, I was overrun with anacondas! Then Barney tried to eat the children and, well, I had to get rid of them. I didn't mind so much, Annie was beginning to measure me each night to see how big she had to get before she could make me her meal. Have you ever had a snake?" He lifted his head when he received no answer. "Emma?" He turned around, seeing that she was fast asleep in the jumpseat. He smiled softly and made his way to her, crouching down in front of her. He put his hand on her cheek, tensing when she moved slightly, but all she did was give a quiet sigh and lean into his touch. "Oh, Emma." He whispered, face falling. "How I wish sleep could fix every tired part of you."

* * *

**A/N - Does the Doctor know something we don't? Hm. I guess we'll just have to see! Next up is Amy's Choice, and after that episode is through, I believe we may see a certain man who's involved in Emma's life...and it's gonna be very sad. So, so sad. :) If there are any spelling mistakes in this one, I have no excuse because I finished writing this this afternoon, so I'm not tired!**


	20. The Dream Lord

**A/N - I'm not really a review begger (I just don't like to do that type of thing), but is there any possible way we could reach 200 reviews for this chapter? It would just make me super happy and I'll even give you guys a present (you just have to leave ideas for a one-shot in your review and maaaaybe I'll write it ;D)! Thank you for everyone who has followed and favorited, it means a lot :) Thank you to skidney, grapejuice101, TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion, 11Dr. Luv, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, and Guest for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_It started with a low light  
Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed  
And then they took my blood type  
They left a strange impression in my head_

* * *

"I don't get why you needed me to come over and help you bake all these. It's not like I'll even get to eat any of them, what with your cravings and all." Emma shut the oven after sliding a cupcake pan in and turned around, eyes widening when she saw Amy offering a wooden spoon to Addison. "Amy, you can't give her that!"

"What?" She looked up in confusion. "You said she could start eating solid foods now!"

"Not _cake batter_." She gently pushed Amy away from her daughter's high chair. "Honestly, how do you expect to take care of your own child when you're trying to give mine salmonella?" Her smile faded when her friend's eyes went wide and she had set the bowl of batter down, breathing heavily. "Come on, that was a joke-"

"No, it's the baby! I think the baby's coming! Rory!" She screamed her husband's name at the top of her lungs, making Emma wince and Addison pause in chewing on her hand. "Rory! It's starting!"

Emma grabbed onto her arm, helping her to sit in a nearby chair. "Okay, calm down, deep breaths. It's still a bit too early, it's probably a false alarm, alright? It happened to me loads of times when I was pregnant with Addison. Just breathe." She watched as Amy did as she said and slowly calmed down, nodding as if to say that it was, in fact, a false alarm. "Good! Here, you deserve it." She handed her the bowl of batter, rolling her eyes when she immediately started eating it right off of the spoon.

There was the sound of the door slamming open and Rory rushed into the kitchen. "Okay, okay!" He fell to his knees in front of Amy.

"False alarm." She told him boredly.

"What?"

"Well, I don't know what it feels like! I've never had a baby before." She stuck the spoon out to feed him a bit of batter. "Mhm." There was then a familiar whirring coming from outside and she and Emma looked to each other with wide eyes. "No..."

"That's not-"

"I know!" Rory said, picking up a cupcake from the counter. "Leaf blowers. Use a rake!"

Amy slammed the bowl onto the counter. "No! It's..." She trailed off as the whirring became louder and they all looked out the window as the TARDIS materialized outside. "I knew. I just knew."

Rory was the first outside, Emma making her way out once she had Addison in her arms, and Amy slowly but surely came waddling after them. When the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and saw them, his face lit up. "Rory, Emma! A baby that I don't know!" His grin widened even more as he pointed towards Addison. "Where did that come from?"

"Doctor!" Rory threw his arms out half-heartedly.

That had his finger pointing towards the flowers that he'd landed the TARDIS on top of. "I've crushed your flowers."

"Oh. Amy will kill you."

"Where is she?" He approached them, pausing to smile goofily at the baby, wiggling his fingers in her face. "And, seriously, where did this come from?"

"My uterus." Emma deadpanned.

"Oh, that's right! I remember, I last left you when you were about three months along!" He looked to Addison as if she'd said something. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I knew your mum then, 'course I did! Well, she'd left when she married your dad, but he went away on business, so I took her off into space for another adventure and she got sick _all over _my TARDIS! I did a test and it turned out that you had been with her all along!" He suddenly frowned. "What's a TARDIS? My spaceship, of-" He cut himself off when Amy waddled out of the house. "Oh, wahey!" His grin faded and his look turned to something close to alarm when he saw her round stomach. "You've swallowed a planet!"

She laughed. "I'm pregnant."

"You're huge!" He grabbed onto her stomach.

"Doctor, she's pregnant." Emma tried to help, but it was clear that he wasn't listening.

"Look at you! When worlds collide!" He spun around to look at Rory for a moment before focusing on Amy's stomach again.

"Doctor, I'm pregnant."

"Oh, look at you all! Five years later," without warning, he wrapped his arms around her. "and you haven't changed a bit. Apart from age," he looked to Rory before going back to Amy's stomach yet again. "and...size." His gaze trailed to the baby in Emma's arms. "And parental status."

"It's good to see you, Doctor." Amy said, gaining his attention back.

He grinned, looking from her stomach, to her face, and back again. "Are you pregnant?" He watched as she shook her head and turned to go back inside. He laughed, turning back to Rory and giving him a pat on the cheek.

"Doctor." Emma stopped him before he could go inside, though Rory had already begun to follow Amy. "Just so you know, yeah, she's pregnant." She leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. "Idiot."

* * *

"Ah, Leadworth." The Doctor commented as he pushed Addison's stroller through the small village, Amy and Rory on either side of him and Emma staying close by the stroller to make sure he didn't do something clumsy and end up flipping her child onto the ground. She wasn't sure how, but she had managed to rope him into pushing it for her as she was tired of doing it herself constantly, and she hadn't realized how bad of an idea it was until he had tripped over a small clump of grass. But, of course, after he'd agreed, he absolutely refused to not push it. "Vibrant as ever."

"It's Upper Leadworth, actually." Rory told him. "We've gone slightly upmarket."

"You living here? I get. Amy and Emma, however..."

Emma scoffed. "I don't live here, trust me. Me and Jeff are down in regular Leadworth, where there are actually one or two people our age." She saw Amy stick her tongue out and didn't hesitate to do it right back.

"Where is everyone?" The Doctor asked, looking around.

"This is busy." Amy's answer just made him look around more, confused. "Okay, it's quiet, but it's really restful and...and healthy! Loads of people 'round here live well into their nineties." Out of breath, she headed to sit on a bench as he said,

"Well, don't let that get you down." He left the stroller beside the bench, sitting down between her and Rory.

"It's not getting me down."

"Lord, how do you push that thing?" He watched Emma as she sat on the arm of the bench and rocked the stroller slightly, to keep Addison from fussing. "It's so...boring and time wasting."

"Oh, believe me, I know." She glared at him. "But you'd do a lot of boring and time wasting things if it made your child happy, wouldn't you?"

He was silent for a moment before he crossed his legs, changing the subject. "Well, I wanted to see how you were! You know me, I don't just _abandon_ people when they leave the TARDIS. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of your old pal the Doctor so easily."

"Hmm," Amy smiled. "you came here by mistake, didn't ya?"

"Yeah, bit of a mistake." He admitted easily. "But look, what a result. Look at this...bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next?"

"Maybe they'll invent a machine that captures moments in time so you can keep your memories visually forever." After Emma's sarcastic comment, they all sat in silence, out of things to say.

The Doctor looked between the three of them. "So...what do you do 'round here to stave off the...you know, self-harm." He finished just as Amy asked,

"Boredom?"

"We relax." Rory said after a moment. "We live, we listen to the birds."

"Yeah, see! Birds. Those are nice."

"We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days, did we?"

"What they're trying to say, Doctor, is that they have lots of sex." Emma didn't have to look over to see that both he and Rory were blushing, while Amy averted her eyes. "Trust me, you don't want to come over without warning them." She blinked in confusion when she realized how loud the birds were getting. "That's, um...is there a family of birds sitting behind us?" Her eyelids began to get heavy and her hand slipped away from the stroller.

"Oh, blimey." The Doctor closed his eyes, dropping his head into his hand. "My head's a bit...ooh." He opened his eyes back up. "No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for...birdsong back in the good..." He was beginning to fall asleep, as were Amy, Rory, and Emma. "Good, old..." His eyes flicked open for only a moment.

* * *

"Days!"

Emma jolted awake at the sound of the Doctor's voice to find herself in the jumpseat. "God, don't tell me I fell asleep here after Venice." She rose from the seat, stretching her arms above her head as the Doctor scrambled off of the floor.

"What? No, yes, sorry, what? You're okay!" He shouted when he saw Amy and Rory walk into the console room. "Oh, thank God." He grabbed onto Emma for a moment, looking her over as if making sure she was all there. "I had a terrible nightmare about you!" He released her to turn to the other two. "And you!" He nearly collapsed against the console, breathing heavily. "That was scary. Don't ask. You don't wanna know." He stepped forward to hug Amy. "You're safe now."

"Oh!" She patted his back. "Okay."

He pulled back, snapping his fingers in Rory's direction. "That's what counts." As he turned around, it seemed he was going to pass out. "Blimey, never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really." He walked away, not seeing Amy grabbing at her flat stomach and looking behind Rory to check for a ponytail. Emma looked around for a stroller and even checked under the seat for a baby. "I'm getting on a bit, you see. Don't let the cool gear fool you. Now, what's wrong with the console? Red, flashing lights...I bet they mean something." He ducked down to look beneath the console.

"Uh, Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing."

"Yeah, so did I."

"Me, too." Emma nodded. "Probably not the same as you guys...too weird and insanely unique to be the same as yours."

"Not a nightmare, though, just..." Rory turned to Amy. "We were married."

"Yeah. In a little village." She almost looked disgusted by that.

"A sweet little village, and you were pregnant..."

"Yes, I was huge! I was a boat."

Emma stepped over to the two and cautiously asked, "By any chance, was I in this dream and did I have-"

"A baby named...Addison? Yeah, and you were married to Jeff, I think." Rory didn't look back when the Doctor pulled back the hood of his sweatshirt. "So, you guys had the same dream, then? Exactly the same dream?"

Amy's face darkened. "Are you calling me a boat?"

"And Doctor, you were visiting."

"Yeah, you told my baby all about how I got sick all over the TARDIS when I was pregnant." Emma raised an eyebrow at the Doctor when he pulled open Amy's jacket. "How did we have the same dream? Is that even possible?"

"And you had a nightmare about..." Amy looked between Emma and Rory before looking back to the Doctor. "Us. What happened to us in the nightmare?"

"It was a bit similar, in some aspects."

"Which aspects?" Rory asked.

"Well, all of them."

"You had the same dream." Amy stepped forward, a hand going to her hip.

"Basically."

"Except..." Rory's eyes went to the ceiling. "It was a nightmare."

Emma crossed her arms over chest and narrowed her eyes. "You consider all that to be a nightmare, Doctor?"

"Did I say it was a nightmare? No. More of a really good...mare. Look, it doesn't matter, we all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track. Forget it! We're back to reality now?" He made his way around the console, not noticing the birdsong that started.

"Um, okay, but how come I can hear birds?" Emma, Amy, and even Rory looked around for the birds, but there were none in sight. "Are there some stowaway birds that had the same dream as us, too?"

"Yeah, the same birds, the same ones we heard in the..."

* * *

"...dream." When Rory opened his eyes and found his forehead was against the Doctor's, they quickly jumped apart, his elbow hitting Emma and knocking her right off of the arm of the bench. "Sorry. Nodded off. Stupid. God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS." He looked to Amy when the Doctor stood up. "You just had exactly the same dream, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Back in the TARDIS, weren't we just saying the same thing?"

"Yeah, we were." Emma grabbed onto the bench to pull herself up, dusting herself off as she glared at Rory. "And we were talking about how _this_ was a dream." She turned to the stroller as Addison started to fuss, shushing her quietly and pushed the contraption back and forth. "Doctor," she called out, rolling her eyes when she saw him examining a stone. "care to explain what the hell is going on?" She pushed the stroller toward him, Amy and Rory close behind.

"Listen to me, trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear, or feel."

"But we're awake now!" Rory told him almost angrily.

"You throught you were awake on the TARDIS, too."

Amy looked around. "But we're home."

"Yeah. You're home. You're also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, Emma, which is which? Are we flashing forwards or...backwards? Hold on tight." He pushed past them to walk a few feet down the road. "This is going to be a tricky one." He smiled slightly before he spun back around and stepped over to the stroller, peeking in at Addison. The baby grinned as soon as he came into view. "Emma, is there anyone who can look after this one?"

"What?" Emma frowned. "Why? I can look after her just fine, thank you."

"Like I said," he grabbed her wrist gently, his eyes searching hers. "don't trust anything you see, hear, or feel." He saw her open her mouth to say something and quickly cut her off. "I know that she looks, sounds, and feels real, but there's a fifty percent chance that she might not be. Real, that is. I know she's your child, but you have to trust me. Besides, if this is it, if this is the real world, wouldn't you rather that she's out of harm's way while we figure this out?"

The stubborn side of her continued to give him a hard stare, but the side of her that cared deeply for the baby that may or may not be real had her softening. "Alright." She felt Amy wrap an arm around her. Well, as best as she could what with her large belly in the way.

"I know someone who can sit her, come on." She lead them to a house down the street where a woman with two kids running around her legs answered the door, looking completely frazzled, though happy to take care of Addison. The four had been walking away from the house and past a schoolyard when their steps faltered.

"Oh, no..." The Doctor collapsed on the ground, Emma falling down beside him, while Amy and Rory sank down onto a bench and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Emma woke up yet again, though this time to the sound of Amy gasping and the sight of the Doctor jumping over her. "Okay." She huffed when she sat up to find that she had passed out at the bottom of the stairs. "Am I the only one who's already tired of this?"

"This is bad." The Doctor grunted, trying and failing to pull a lever. "I don't like this." He walked away for only a moment before he was turning back around and kicking the console as hard as he could. "Ow!" He leaned down, clutching at his leg. "Never use force! You just embarrass yourself!" He hobbled around the room. "Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force!"

"Jesus, are you okay?" Emma's look of concern turned dry when he walked over to her, gesturing rather pathetically to his foot. "You want me to check?" She shook her head when he nodded and she began to poke at his leg. She didn't get a reaction until she poked his toes and then he cried out. "Oh, it's your own fault!" She gave his calf a slap, grabbing onto the railing of the stairs to pull herself to her feet.

"That doesn't make it hurt any less!" He snapped and as he limped down another set of stairs to look beneath the console, Amy climbed out of the jumpseat she'd fallen asleep in and asked,

"Shall I run and get the manual?"

"I threw it in a supernova."

She scoffed. "You threw the manual in a supernova? Why?"

"Because I disagreed with it!" He yelled, looking up at her through the glass. "Stop talking to me when I'm cross!"

"Okay," Rory threw his hands up. "but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future?"

"Well, if we were dreaming of the future." He made his way back up the stairs.

"Well, of course we were, we were in Leadworth!"

"Upper Leadworth." Rory's correction earned him a glare from Amy.

"Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this." The Doctor walked around the console, handing each person a tool. "Don't you get it?"

"Personally, I stopped getting things the moment I started travelling with you." Emma eyed the tool in her hand. "Besides, this is real. This is definitely real. I wouldn't name my kid Addison, anyway."

"Yeah, I'm definitely awake now." Amy agreed.

He stepped up to the two girls, beginning to look frustrated. "I'm sure you thought it was real when you were holding Addison in your arms, and you," he turned to face Amy. "thought you were awake when you were all..." He puffed out, holding his arms out to mime something big. "Elephanty."

"Hey!" She held her tool out almost threateningly. "Pregnant."

"And you could be giving birth right now." He told her. "This could be the dream. I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true." He took the tool from her and made his way back to the console.

"You told me that when you made me give up my child!" Emma's hands went to her hips. "If it is the real world, which I think it isn't, my child is with someone who could be a murderer and I won't be able to save her until I wake up, all because you told me not to trust her! Not to trust a _baby_ because she could be a dream."

"We're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside." Rory said suddenly.

"With a bow tie wearing alien."

"Who had the ability to throw the manual for his spaceship into a supernova."

"So maybe, 'what rings true'," Rory raised his fingers to make air quotes. "isn't so simple."

"Valid point." The Doctor admitted rather begrudglingly as he continued to work on the console. That's when everything shut down and the room went dark. "It's dead." He whispered after a moment of silence. "We're in a dead machine."

As the birdsong started up again, Rory moved to hug Amy and Emma leaned against the console next to the Doctor, letting her head fall. "For God's sake..."

"Remember, this is real. When we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It's real!" Amy nearly snapped. "I know it's real."

* * *

The Doctor pulled Emma to her feet as they awoke. "Real or not," she grabbed onto his arms to steady herself. "I want my child. I can't just leave her alone, I-" She cut off when he yanked her back, not even letting her get a foot closer to the woman's home.

"No, Emma. Real or not, she's safer without you than with you." He lowered his head to make her meet his eyes. "Do you understand me?" He waited for her to nod before he released her, whistling to himself as Amy and Rory came to on the bench.

"Okay, this is the real one." Amy rubbed her belly. "Definitely this one. It's all solid." She slapped Rory's hand away when he tried to touch her stomach.

"It felt solid in the TARDIS, too." The Doctor turned to face them. "You can't spot a dream while you're having it." He began waving his fingers in front of his face as the other three surrounded him.

"Uh," Rory drawled. "what are you doing?"

"Looking for motion blur, pixalation. It could be a computer simulation." The Doctor pinched Rory's cheeks. "I don't think so, though."

An old woman walked by them. "Hello, doctor."

"Hi!" He grinned, but it fell when he realized that Rory had said hello to her as well. "You're a doctor?"

"Yeah. And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams." He smiled despite the fact that both Amy and Emma groaned.

"A doctor, not a nurse." The Doctor began to walk away. "Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting."

Rory was the first to follow, Amy and Emma close behind. "What is?"

"Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby." He stopped and turned back, making his way up to them. "Maybe this is you dream?"

"It's Amy's dream, too! Isn't it, Amy?"

"Yes." She said too quickly, giving a nervous laugh. "'Course it is, yeah."

"Okay, but here's what I don't get." Emma held a hand up. "Why would either of you dream up me having a baby? Can't be just one dream, it has to be all of our dreams mixed together, right? But in my dream, the baby would have a totally different name..." She trailed off, shaking her head slowly. "This is way too confusing."

The Doctor nodded for a moment before he jabbed his thumb toward the building behind him. "What's that?"

"Old people's home." Amy told him and they all looked to see that several of the people inside were looking out their windows at them.

"You said everyone here lives to their nineties. There's something here that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick." He smiled and dashed into the building, followed closely by a scoffing Rory.

"Oh." Amy put her hands on her back. "Can we _not _do the running thing?" She started to waddle towards the retirement home, but stopped when she realized Emma was looking back at the house. "Addison's gonna be fine, I'm sure of it. Now come on! Help me in there before the Doctor _actually _pokes some old lady with a stick." They shared a forced laugh before they made their way into the building, finding Rory talking to Mrs. Poggit, one of the residents of the home.

"Who's your friend?" The woman grinned, pointing towards the Doctor. "A junior doctor?"

"...yes." Rory said after a second, almost looking a bit smug.

"Can I borrow you? You're the size of my grandson."

"Uh," the Doctor kneeled in front of her, letting her slip the sweater she'd been knitting over his head. "Slightly keen to move on. Freak pyschic schism to sort out." He suddenly placed his hands on the arms of the chair, leaning forward and forcing Mrs. Poggit to lean back. "You're incredibly old, aren't you?"

"Oh, please do _not _kiss her." Emma cringed, turning away. Her eyes started to feel heavy when she heard the birds start singing again, making her not care so much when Rory stumbled into her and knocked her to the floor.

* * *

They were all leaning on the console when they woke up again. "Okay, I hate this, Doctor, stop it. Because this is definitely real, it's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?" As Amy went on, the Doctor ran up a set of stairs.

"It's bloody cold!" Rory wrapped his arms around himself.

"The heating's off!"

"The heating's off." He scowled.

"Yeah! Put on a jumper." The Doctor came into view from where he was on the upper level. "That's what I always do."

"Yes, sorry about Mrs. Poggit. She's so lovely, though."

"Yeah, encourage him!" Emma smacked Rory's shoulder with the back of her hand before wrapping her arms around herself as well, realizing just how cold it was. "You saw what he was doing back there. He was just about to snog the hell out of her!"

The Doctor glared at her. "Stop it! I wasn't going to snog her! Oh, and I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you."

"What do you mean, 'act'?" Amy asked.

"Everything's off. Sensors, core power. We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere." He ran back down the stairs and to the console. "Someone, something, is overriding my controls."

"Well," they all looked up at the sound of the new voice, stepping back when they saw a man dressed similarly like the Doctor standing at the top of the stairs. He looked nothing like him, however, he was balding and short, and looked to be at least fifteen years older. "that took a while. Honestly!" He threw his hands up, making his way down the steps. "I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie." He laughed.

"How did you get into my TARDIS?" The Doctor watched him, his expression a mix of confusion, caution, and a bit of anger. "Who are you?"

"What shall we call me? Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord."

He nodded towards his outfit. "Nice look."

"This?" He looked himself over. "No, I'm not convinced. Bow ties?"

The Doctor reached into his pocket, pulling out a ball and throwing it towards the man. It flew through him and caused him to flicker. "Interesting."

"Uh, Doctor?" Emma inched towards his side. "Are we dealing with a ghost? Because I'm not sure I'm prepared for that _just_ yet."

"I'm not a ghost, love." Is all the man offered before he turned his attention back to the Doctor. "I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord. It's in the name, isn't it? Spooky, not quite there." He disappeared before appearing again behind them. "And yet, very much here!"

"I'll do the talking, thank you." The Doctor stepped up to him. "Amy, want to take a guess at what _that_ is?"

"Um. Dream Lord. He creates dreams."

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks."

"And what about the gooseberry and the one who's never as great as little Amy, do they get a guess?" His question had Emma's and the Doctor's faces darkening while Rory was quick to defend himself.

"Uh, listen, mate, if anyone's the gooseberry 'round here, it's the Doctor."

The Dream Lord grinned. "Well, there's a delusion I'm not responsible for."

"No, he is. Isn't he, Amy?"

"Oh, Amy. Have to sort your men out. Choose, even." When he turned to look at Emma, his nearly sympathetic look turned to a smirk. "She's not the only one who needs to choose, is she?" His smirk only widened when she averted her gaze. "I mean, look at you! Three. Going for a record or are you really just that much of a whore?"

She didn't see the Doctor open his mouth to say something, unknowingly interrupting him with an admittedly weak, "Shut up."

"I have chosen." Amy was quick to take the attention off her. "Of course I've chosen." She reached back to slap Rory's chest. "It's you, stupid."

"Oh, good, thanks." He sighed in relief.

Once again, the Dream Lord flickered out of sight and appeared behind them. "You can't fool me. I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice, Amy! Blimey, I'd blush." His face fell. "If I had a blood supply. Or a real face."

"Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" The Doctor approached him.

"Me? Oh, you're on shaky ground."

"Am I?"

"If you had any more tawdry quirks, you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student...I'm surprised you haven't got a little, purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalatic wag you are."

"Something tells me you're just here to be a ginormous arse." Emma made her way towards them, gaining a bit of her confidence back. "That's pretty much all you've had to offer so far, isn't it?"

He scoffed a laugh, looking her over. "Talk about tawdry. Maybe if you're really lucky, you could be one of his quirks, even if just for a bit." He said it with suggestion in his tone and the Doctor's jaw clenched. Emma wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know exactly what it was that he was _suggesting_. "Where was I?"

"Um, you were-"

"I know where I was!" He interrupted Rory, appearing on the upper level. "So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake." As he continued, the four exchanged a look. "And just to make it more interesting, you have to face, in both worlds, a deadly danger. But only _one _of the dangers is real." He grinned again. "Tweet, tweet, time to sleep!"

The Doctor's glare was cut short as he started to blink heavily, stumbling back. As Rory collapsed and Amy passed out against the console, he and Emma tried desperately to stay awake. "Oh, or are you waking up?" They fell in a heap on the floor.

**A/N - I hope you all like it so far! This is one of my favorite episodes, I'd hate to make it seem too boring. And, yes, I made Emma have a baby in the one dream! I hope that's not too weird, I've made it so she won't disrupt anything and make it awkward because they had a baby in the way of everything, haha. Also, I'm actually doing one song for this whole episode because, I don't know, I'm just feeling it! So if you happen to look up the lyrics in each chapter for some reason and notice that the lyrics in the next couple belong to the same song, that's why! Not that you care. Okay. Carry on.**


	21. There's an Eye in Her Mouth

**A/N - Oh, my goodness! We got to 200 and then some! Wow, you guys are brilliant. Not only will I thank you here, but I'm going to personally message each one of you. Seriously, thank you!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_You think you might cross over  
You're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea  
You better look it over  
Before you make that leap_

* * *

The four awoke in the now empty lounge of the retirement home. Emma groaned, quickly shoving Rory off of her and sitting up to look around. "Where did all the old people go?" Her confusion turned to anger when the Dream Lord strutted in, this time wearing a suit and holding an X-ray in his hand.

"This is bad. This is very, very bad." He approached them as they all stood. "Look at this X-ray. Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."

"Always?" Amy loomed over him. "What do you mean, always?"

"Now then, the prognosis is." As he spoke, the Doctor sat in the chair that Mrs. Poggit had occupied before. "If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality."

Rory hesitantly took the bait. "What happens?"

"You _die_, stupid. That's why it's called reality."

"You know, I think I was right." Emma gave a sarcastic smile, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're just here to be the biggest arse in the universe." That said, she made her way to the Doctor and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Dream or not, she'd developed a bit of a maternal instinct and the look on his face reminded her of a child, so she couldn't bring herself to not comfort him.

"Have you met the Doctor before? Do you know him?" Amy stepped even closer to the Dream Lord, looking over to the Doctor for comfirmation. "Doctor, does he?"

"Now don't get jealous. He's been around, our boy. Never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor." He approached the chair slowly. "Take two and call me in the morning." He made a hand gesture for a phone before he disappeared.

"Okay, I don't like him."

"The Devil probably doesn't even like him, Rory." Emma rolled her eyes as she rubbed the Doctor's shoulder gently. "Bloody maternal instinct..." She murmured under her breath and he looked up at her.

"What?"

"Nothing!" She averted her gaze.

"Who is he?" Thank God for Amy, changing the subject and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't know." The Doctor shrugged one shoulder, not wanting Emma to remove her hand. "It's a big universe."

"Why is he doing this?"

"Maybe because he has no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folks like us who can touch and eat and feel." He suddenly seemed to realize he was still wearing the jumper that Mrs. Poggit had knitted, so he stood and yanked it over his head.

"What does he mean, deadly danger?" Rory asked. "Nothing deadly has happened here. A bit of natural waste, obviously."

The Doctor turned around slowly, looking around the room. "They've all gone. They've all gone." He burst into a run, followed quickly by Emma and Rory, while Amy ran as fast as she could behind them. He stopped outside the door for a moment, watching the children run around a playground across the road.

"Why would they leave?"

"And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's nice, old lady act?"

He spun back around at Amy's question. "One of my _tawdry quirks _— sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So," he slapped his hands together. "come on, let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in...time asleep matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams." He started to walk away, but turned right back when Rory said,

"And we're dreaming the same dream at the same time."

"Yes, sort of communal trance, very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway. But my mind isn't working because this village is _so dull_! I'm slowing down, like you three have."

"Well, _maybe_ we should see if we can fly in either of these dreams! That could tell us!" Emma snapped. Her anger quickly turned to concern when Amy cried out, grabbing at her stomach. "Amy?"

"Ow. Really. Ow!" She screamed. "It's coming!" She grabbed onto both Emma and the Doctor, almost dragging them both to the ground.

"Okay, okay!" The Doctor held a hand up, looking to Rory. "You're a doctor, help her!"

He snapped his head to the side to look at him, panic clear on his face. "_You're _a doctor!"

"It's okay, we're doctors!" He kneeled down, holding his hands out between her legs as if to catch the baby when it came out. "What do we do? Emma, you've had a baby in this world!"

"I don't know! I didn't take it out myself! However, I do know that it's not a ball, you idiot!" Emma smacked his shoulder, far different from the comfort she'd been trying to give him before. "You can't just catch it and then throw it to one of them!" She turned her attention back to her friend. "Amy, just take deep breaths, alright?"

That's when she stopped completely and anyone who happened to pass by wouldn't even be able to tell something had been going on. "Okay, it's not coming."

"What?" The Doctor rose to his feet.

"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet. So, don't you call it dull again, ever. Okay?" She stared him straight in the eyes and it took him a moment to mutter,

"Sorry."

"Yeah." She walked off, Rory following behind her.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Emma when she gave a quiet laugh. "I'm sorry." She cleared her throat to try and stop, but her laughter only increased. "God, it was terrifying to think you actually figured that was okay when we thought Amy was having the baby, but the more I think about it, the funnier it gets. It was like you were getting ready to play American football."

"Oh, laugh it up." He gave a sarcastic chuckle of his own, but his lips twitched into a genuine smile for half a second before he spotted something.

"What?" She turned around to see that Mrs. Poggit was heading up the steps of some nearby ruins that the children had run to. "Is that Mrs. Poggit? Odd place for her to..." She trailed off when she realized he had gone after Amy and Rory, taking the swing next to Amy before Rory could. "Oi!" She jogged over to them, leaning against the swingset. "Warn a person before you walk away!"

"Sorry, but we all know there's an elephant in the room." He began to swing, thought Amy stayed still and turned her head to glare at him.

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby."

"No, no." He looked back at Rory. "Hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail?" He slowly started to smile when he saw Amy's grumpy look disappear. "You hold him down, I'll cut it off." They both laughed.

"This from the man in the bow tie?"

"Bow ties are cool."

Emma smirked. "It's no use, Doctor. We already tried to cut it off, remember that, Amy? Rory had fallen asleep on the sofa, so you sat on top of him while I grabbed a pair of scissors. We didn't realize he was faking until I went to cut it off and he threatened to stab me." This time, three of them laughed while Rory continued to look rather insulted. Her smile faded when she realized something. "If this _is_ the dream, how would I be able to remember something as little as that?"

"Dreams can give you fake memories." The Doctor explained as he dragged his feet on the ground, making the swing slow down. "Say, there's someone in your dream who you don't know, just a face you saw on the street that stuck in the back of your head, and your mind gives them a fake name. Your subconscious can do..." He trailed off and stood, eyes now on Mrs. Poggit as she watched the children. "Don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. _Poggit _as a babysitter." The old woman slowly turned, staring back at him. "What's she doing? What does she want?" He whispered and that's when the birdsong started back up.

"Oh." Amy stumbled back. "Here we go."

* * *

That time when Emma woke up on the TARDIS floor, she sort of punched it. "God, this is getting _so _irritating." She grabbed onto the console to pull herself up as the Doctor stood beside her. Amy and Rory walked over, both with their arms wrapped around themselves.

"It's really cold, have you got any warm clothing?"

"What does it matter if we're cold?" He snapped, turning around to face them. "We have to know what she is up to." His demeanor changed at the looks they gave him and he ran his hands over his face. "Sorry, sorry. Um, there should be some stuff down there, have a look." Amy went off to where he'd pointed, but Rory stared at him for a moment, zipping his vest up rather angrily before he walked off. The Doctor grabbed a mug from the console, pausing when he saw Emma had yet to move. "Aren't you going to find something warm to wear?"

"Are you okay?" She rolled her eyes. "Oh, the instinct is leaking into this world." She had yet to realize that perhaps it hadn't been maternal instinct at all, but she had started to care for the Doctor. She shook her head when he gave her a confused look. "Sorry. Seriously, though. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. 'Course." He gave her a small smile. "I'm always okay." His hand hovered in the air as if to touch her shoulder or face, but he let it fall back to his side. "Go on, get some warmer clothes before you freeze."

She eyed him for a moment longer before she nodded, heading over to join Rory and Amy. The conversation they were having made her wince and start to backtrack, but Rory's gaze flicked to her which meant he already knew she was there and it was too late to turn back. "You are always so insecure." It was clear that Amy had yet to notice her.

"You ran off with another man!" Rory threw his hands out.

"Not in that way."

"It was the night before our wedding."

"We're in a time machine. It's the night before our wedding for as long as we want."

He stared at her as she gathered up some blankets, arms crossed over his chest. "We have to grow up eventually."

"Says who?" She jogged back up the stairs that lead to the console, giving Emma a tight smile as she went past her.

"Ah," Emma grimaced, inhaling through her teeth as she stepped down the stairs. "I came down here at quite an awkward time, didn't I? I agree with you, though." She bumped her shoulder against his. "We _do _have to grow up eventually. You two have to get married and I have a boyfriend to get back to." She toyed with her necklace, something she'd been doing a lot lately every time she or someone else mentioned Jeff.

"Emma, you know, back in Venice I really didn't mean anything I said you." He ran a hand through his hair before he headed over to the box and pulled out a couple more blankets. "I was just frustrated-"

"You've already apologized, Rory." She accepted the folded up blanket he offered her and held it to her chest. "But you did mean it." She shook her head when he opened his mouth to say something. "Don't lie and say you didn't, alright? Because you did and it's true. I'm not much better than Amy right now." She smiled almost sadly and headed back up the stairs, putting her blanket aside. She just barely managed to duck to avoid being poked in the face by something the Doctor had created out of kitchen gadgets. "What the hell is that?"

"A thing."

She rolled her eyes, moving to stand next to Amy. "A thing? Doctor, don't know if you know, but now's not really the time to be baking."

"I dunno." Amy shrugged her blanket off, setting it on the railing along with the one she'd picked out for the Doctor. "A cake wouldn't be _so_ bad right now."

She considered that for a moment before nodding. "I guess with a bit of persuasion I could eat one or two profiteroles."

"Ooh, yeah, with a little bit of -"

"Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please?" The Doctor interrupted the two, handing her a wire that was attached to the kitchen gadget device, which was now in Rory's arms. As she did as he said, Rory looked at the mess in his hands.

"I was promised amazing worlds." He scowled at her. "Instead, I get duff central heating and a...weird, kitchen-y wind-up device."

"It's a generator, get winding!"

He started winding it too slowly and Amy groaned, "It's not enough!"

"Rory, wind!" The Doctor snapped.

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you?" He began to wind faster, almost angry. "Why us?" The monitor suddenly flickered to life and they all looked over, finding a clear view of space.

"Okay, we're in space." Emma leaned against the railing. "So?"

"We're not just in space. We're in trouble."

"_What _is that?" Rory asked, stepping forward as a white orb appeared on the screen.

"A star. A cold star." The Doctor bolted down the stairs and to the door, pulling it open to reveal a bright white light that had everyone shielding their eyes. "That's why we're freezing! It's not a heating malfunction! We're drifting toward a cold sun! That's our deadly danger for this version of reality." He shut the door and they all rubbed their arms, the star having let in more cold air.

"This must be the dream. There is no such thing as a cold star." Amy shivered. "Stars burn."

"So's this one. It's just burning cold."

"Is that possible?"

The Doctor nearly growled at Rory's question, running back up the stairs. "I can't know everything! Why does everybody expect me to, always?" He sat down in the jumpseat, running a hand over his face.

"Maybe it's because you constantly act like you know everything?" There wasn't even any anger in Emma's voice, she was far too cold to snap at him.

"Okay, this is something you haven't seen before." Even Rory wasn't getting angry at him. "So does that mean this is the dream?"

"I don't know." The Doctor's eyebrows raised as he made hand movements in his frustration. "There it is, and I'd say we've got about," he checked his watch. "fourteen minutes until we crash into it, but that's not a problem!" He stood, making his way to the console.

"Because you know how to get us out of this?"

He put on a stethoscope and turned to Rory. "Because we'll have frozen to death."

"Oh, lovely." Emma sank down into the chair that he had sat in moments before. "What do we do, then."

"Stay calm." He used the stethoscope on the console. "Don't get sucked into it, because this just might be the battle we have to lose."

"Oh, this is so you, isn't?" Rory let his anger seep into his tone.

"What?"

"Huh!" He nearly laughed. "What a weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day? Huh?" He didn't see Amy let her head fall into her hand. "I just wanted a nice village and a family-"

"Would you shut up?" Emma stood, more frustrated than angry. "I am so _sick _of you two constantly getting at each other! Honestly, at this point _my _torch is bigger and I don't even have one!" She saw Amy's confused look and held a hand up. "I'll explain later, I promise. Right now, I'm dealing with a couple of insolent children that need-"

"Oh, dear, Doctor." The Dream Lord appeared in the room. "Dissent in the ranks. There was an old Doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up _throwing_ his life away. He let down his friends and..." He trailed off at the sound of birds. "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll, um...catch your death here."

* * *

The Doctor rushed from the playground and up the stairs to the ruins, the other three close behind them. "Where have the children gone?" There wasn't a child in sight, only piles of dust and clothing. He ran forward to examine one of the piles.

"Don't know." Rory shrugged. "Playtime's probably over. Oh! You see, this is the real one." He turned to face Amy and Emma. "I just feel it. Don't you feel it?"

"I feel it both places."

"I feel it here. It's just so...tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here."

Emma left the two to have probably another argument, making her way to the Doctor as he scanned a pile of dust that was closer to them. "Doctor, what is all this?" She had a feeling she shouldn't touch it, though he let it run through his fingers, an almost horrified look on his face. "Doctor?"

"Play time's definitely over."

"Wha-" Her face went a few shades whiter when she figured out what he meant. "Those are the children." His solemn nod had her putting her hand over her mouth. "Oh, God."

"What happened to them?" Rory asked.

The Doctor started to shake his head, but stopped short when he saw all of the people from the retirement home walking down the road. "I think they did."

"That's it, I'm getting Addison. I don't care what anyone says." Emma pushed past the three, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Emma! Emma, no, wait!"

She heard the Doctor pounding after her, but she didn't stop. That is, until the Dream Lord appeared in front of her and she gasped, falling right onto her backside. Her foot went through his, causing him to flicker, and she scrambled back, soon pulled to her feet by the Doctor as he, Amy, and Rory came up behind her. "Hello, peasants! What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous! This has gotta be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS!" He looked between Emma and the Doctor. "You two first."

"Leave her alone." Not even the Doctor and the Dream Lord knew whether he meant Emma or Amy, or both.

"Do that again. I love it when he does that." He nearly whispered. "Tall, dark hero, '_Leave her alone_'."

"Just leave her!" Rory threw his hand out.

"Yes, you're not quite so impressive. But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up." She shot back. "Just shut up and leave me alone."

"But listen, you're in there." The Dream Lord approached her slowly, giving her a wink. "Loves a redhead, our naughty Doctor! Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well, she thought she was the first." His eyes met Emma's and while she looked mostly impassive, with a hint of anger, he went on to say, "Oh, don't worry, Emma. I'm sure he would settle for you, if you gave him the chance. He's got a bit of a soft spot for brunettes. Well, no, that's not true. He's got a bit of a soft spot for y-"

"Drop it!" The Doctor cut him off, a dark look on his face. "Drop all of it. I know who you are."

The Dream Lord turned his head to look at him. "'Course you don't."

"'Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."

"Never mind me. Maybe you _should _worry about them." The four looked over to see that the old people were approaching them at an alarming speed for their age and when they looked back, the Dream Lord was gone.

"Hi!" Rory was the first to cry out to the people.

"Hello!"

"Hello, we were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements, by the look of it!" The Doctor said. "Are you alright? You look a bit...tense."

"Hello, Mr. Nainby!" Rory stepped towards one of the men, only stopping when the Doctor said his name as a warning. "Mr. Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee." His smile turned to panic when Mr. Nainby lifted him up by his collar. "Did I not say thank you?" He screamed as he was launched through the air and landed with a splat in the mud. "How did he do that?"

"I suspect he's not himself! Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run. Fast."

Amy's gaze went from the Doctor, to her stomach, and back again, as if to tell him that she couldn't run fast. "Can't we just talk to them?" That's when Mrs. Poggit opened her mouth to reveal an eye. "There's an eye in her mouth."

"Oh, yeah, I'm just going to..." Emma slipped behind the Doctor as he pulled out his sonic, scanning the woman.

"There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."

"That is _disgusting_." Rory frowned, leaning closer to the Doctor to ask, "They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?" As soon as the question left his mouth, she shot a green mist out of the eye and they all screamed, jumping back.

"Run!" The Doctor yelled, keeping himself in front of them. Rory wrapped his arm around Amy and grabbed Emma's hand, dragging them away without hesitation. They made it a few yards before Emma tugged her hand from Rory's grasp, starting in the other direction.

"Emma, stop! Where are you going?"

"I need to get Addison! Just go home, okay? I'll be there as soon as I can!"

"Emma-"

"Go!" With that, she left Amy and Rory behind, swerving past one of the old people that had followed them. She panted and her heart pounded in her chest, not only from the running, but from the fear that was coursing through her. As she ran past the Doctor and pushed through the group of aliens, she heard him call out her name, but she didn't turn back. "Oh, no, no, no..." Each house either had its door hanging open or a pile of dust in front of it and the one house she was looking for was no different. She ran into the house, stumbling over her own feet. "Hello? Oh, God, please tell me that someone's here!" She paused in the sitting room. There were three piles of dust on the floor, two smaller than the other, and Addison's stroller sat in the middle. She approached it cautiously, the room silent aside from her shaky breathing. The near-silence was broken by a harsh sob when she looked into the stroller to find a pile of dust. "No! Addison!" Her fingers raked through the dust desperately, searching for a child that wasn't there. "Please, no." Her legs gave way beneath her and she tried to grab onto the side of the stroller to keep herself up, but she sank to her knees.

"Emma!" The Doctor skidded to a halt, nearly slamming into the doorjamb. "Emma, come on, we have to..." He froze when he saw inside the stroller. "Go." He finished quietly. "We have to go, right now." He wrapped his arms around her and tried to lift her to her feet, grunting when she thrashed in his grip. "Emma-"

"No! Let me go!" She struggled even as he pulled her back, practically dragging her away from the empty stroller. "Doctor, get off of me!" She grabbed at his arms, attempting to pry them off, but he held tight.

"Emma, I am so sorry, but _please_, we have to go!" His voice was breaking every couple words as he pulled her away. "Come on!" He let go of her waist, only to grab tightly onto her wrist and drag her out of the house, despite her struggling. The aliens were gaining on them quickly and as they ran down the street, the birdsong start again and their running turned to stumbling. "Stay awake, Emma, please!" He spotted a butcher's shop up ahead and sped his steps as much as he could, tugging her inside. He let her fall to the floor, locking the door and flipping the sign to 'Closed' as the birds stopped for a moment.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you?" The Dream Lord now stood behind the counter. "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. But you're probably a vegetarian, you big flop-haired wuss." He turned his gaze from the Doctor, who was trying to unlock another door, and grinned when he saw Emma. "And look at this sobbing mess. Lose something, love?"

"You leave her alone or I _swear_..." The Doctor stopped, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Just pipe down. I'm busy." He went back to trying to unlock the door.

"Maybe you need a little sleep." As he said that, the birdsong started back up again and the Doctor slipped down to the floor, reaching out to pull Emma closer to him. "Oh, wait a moment." He whispered, leaning forward. "If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye thingies." The Doctor ignored him, helping Emma to her feet and guiding her down a hallway that was behind the counter. "Fingers in the ears?" He followed them, referring to the way the Doctor was trying to cover his ears while still keeping a hold on Emma. "Brilliant! What's next, shouting boo?" He looked back when he realized the aliens were at the door, gesturing for them to enter. "Come in, come in!"

The Doctor sank to the floor when Emma went limp against him. "No, no, no! Wake up, Emma, please. You have to stay awake with me."

"Yes, we've got lots at 'steak' here this week. Lots at steak!" The Dream Lord looked back at him, smiling. "Get it?" At that, the Doctor seemed to become slightly more alert and he tucked Emma's sleeping form against his aside, pulling himself up with the handle on the freezer door. It took some effort, but he made it to the second freezer before he sank to the floor. "Are these jokes wasted on you?"

"Wait, wait, stop!" He pulled his sonic out of his jacket as a few of the old people started down the hallway.

"Oh, I can't watch." The Dream Lord put a hand over his eyes.

He quickly stood, using his sonic on the door and shoving Emma inside first and then stumbling in after. He slammed the door shut, locking it and falling to the floor, not even phased by the people trying to open it. The last thing he did before falling asleep was pull Emma closer.

* * *

**A/N - I think I am literally the worst person in the world. I just feel so bad for doing that to the baby D: Not to mention doing it to Emma! It is what it is, I suppose. Anyway, I think I promised you guys a present if you got me to 200 reviews. Would you like that present? You'll have to help me choose it, if you do want it.**


	22. A Choice Between Two Dreams

**A/N - You all light up my life, you know that? First of all, thank you for your reviews for the last chapter! I would thank all of you on here like I usually do, but then so much room would be taken up with that AND what I'm about to say next.**

**So, as a super thank you for getting me to 200, I'm going to write a one-shot (separate from this story of course) for you all. Just pop an idea in a review, or even message me! I'll put up a poll with each idea (if you **_**all**_** give me an idea, it will be the longest poll :P Which would be pretty cool, actually) and you guys can go and vote! Again, thank you so much. You don't understand how much your reviews mean to me and make me smile when I read them.**

**And to Esther - I have not seen Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, yet! I've seen clips of it and such, but I haven't seen the actual episode yet. I believe you when you say it was awesome, though :)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"  
The dream maker's gonna make you mad  
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down,  
it's all in your mind"_

* * *

When Emma opened her eyes, she realized two things: one, that she was back in the TARDIS, and two, that it was even colder than it had been before. She realized a third thing, of course, which was that if the other world was real, she'd just lost her child; but she decided to not think about it and grabbed a blanket instead. She wrapped it around herself before grabbing another one, placing it over Amy's sleeping form. When she went to put one on the Doctor, all three of them shot up. "God!" She stumbled back, a hand going to her chest. "Don't do that ever again, please!" She tossed the Doctor's blanket over the railing and gasped in surprise when he grabbed her arms, turning her around roughly.

"Are you okay?" He pulled her closer, his eyes searching hers. "Please tell me that you're okay."

It took her a moment of furrowing her brow before she realized he was talking about her losing Addison. "I'm fine, Doctor. It was just a dream, right?" She nodded to herself. "I'm sure that world is the fake one."

"Emma-"

"I said I'm fine." She pulled out of his grip, wrapping her blanket tighter around herself.

He eyed her for a second longer before he hugged himself, looking around at the three. "The four of us have to agree, now, which is the dream." He buttoned up his jacket.

"It's this, here." Rory pointed to the floor, though it was clear that he meant the reality.

"He could be right." Amy pulled her blanket to her chin. "The science is all wrong here, burning ice?"

"No, no, no, ice can burn, sofas can read, it's a big universe. We have to agree which battle to lose! All of us, now."

"Okay," she humored him. "which world do _you_ think is real?"

"This one."

"I have to agree with him." Emma shivered, lowering into one of the jumpseats and curling up slightly to try and get warm. "It _has _to be this one." She was beginning to sound almost desperate, unable to believe that the world where her baby was taken could be real. Things like that happened in the real world, yes, but she just refused to believe it.

Rory, however, still disagreed. "No, the other one!"

"Yeah, but are we disagreeing, or are we _competing_?" The Doctor shot back, getting in his face slightly.

"Competing?" Amy asked through clenched teeth. "Over what?" They just looked at her and she groaned, standing up. "Do you have any idea what they're competing about?" She turned to Emma.

"Last I checked?" She raised an eyebrow. "Size."

She stared at her for a moment before shaking her head and yanking her blanket away despite her protests, throwing her own blanket onto the console as the Doctor said there were nine minutes until they crashed. "What temperature is it?"

"Outside? Brr." The Doctor shivered. "How many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know, but I can't feel my feet and...other parts."

"I think all my parts are basically fine."

Emma huffed, a puff of white coming from her lips, and made her way over to the boys. "Do _not _make me yell at you again. Actually, no, I'm too cold to yell, so..." She pulled Rory's hood off of his head and reached over to give the Doctor a flick on the chin before she wrapped her arms around herself. "There we go."

"I'd rather you yelled." Rory gave her a half-hearted glare, tugging his hood back on. The glare disappeared when he spotted the phone on the console, running forward to grab it. "Can't we call for help?" He asked as if it were obvious and the Doctor quickly snatched it out of his hand.

"Yeah, the universe is really small and there's bound to be someone nearby!" He hit him on the head with the phone before hanging it back up.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake! You said you'd rather I yell, right?" Emma practically growled out, putting a hand on each of their chests to shove between them. "You two are being such idiots! If this was all you were going to do while you're here, then why did you even come, Rory?"

"It's not my fault he thinks so much of himself!"

"Please, I'm not the one competing with every single thing you say!"

"Right, right, because you didn't laugh when Amy said I could play her brother? Yeah, I heard that, you know!"

"If you both don't stop, I swear, I will murder you with a-"

"Put these on," Amy interrupted them, pelting one blanket at the Doctor as hard as she could and tossing another to Emma. "all of you." She slipped another over Rory's head, revealing that she'd cut a hole in them.

"Oh, a poncho!" Both Rory and Emma were rather unhappy about it, but the Doctor was spinning around as if he were modelling it. "The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen."

Emma rolled her eyes when she saw the Doctor running his hands through his hair. "You look like an eight-year-old who's lived a very sheltered life and has just gone out into the real world for the first time, not David Beckham." She ignored his pout, adjusting her own 'poncho'.

"Huh. There we go." Amy pulled her hair out from beneath the blanket, pausing to look at the two boys. "Aw, my boys. My poncho boys." She did some sort of dance as she moved to stand between Emma and Rory. "_Our _poncho boys."

"No, you can keep them."

She and Emma shared a smile. "If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band." They all watched the monitor for a moment, the cold star coming closer with each passing second before Rory shook his head.

"We're not gonna die."

"No, we're not," the Doctor checked his watch. "but our times running out. If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble." He ran his hands over his face and began pacing. "If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world, but the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. Why? Why, what's the logic?"

Out of nowhere, the Dream Lord was pacing alongside him. "Good idea, Veggie, let's divide you four up, so I can have a little chat with our lovely companion." He gestured toward Amy. "Maybe I'll _keep _her, and you can have the whore and Pointy Nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality. Once the beak over here gets over Amy, you two could compete over her next! Or maybe even share her. Oh, that gets you all stimulated, doesn't it, Doctor? Bet you'd love that."

"You can shut up now." Emma's angry words were met with a smirk and a light chuckle.

"No, no, you're right. He never was so good at sharing his toys, our Doctor."

She tried to glare at him, but there was soon the sound of birds and her eyes started to close as Rory asked, "Can you hear that?" He grabbed onto Amy's shoulder.

"What?" She looked around, clear not able to hear the birds. "No."

"Amy, don't be scared." The Doctor stumbled forward and held onto her arm. "We'll be back." He started to lower to the floor next to Rory. Emma managed to stay awake for a moment longer, though she sat between the two boys.

"Don't be too much of an arse, Dream Lord."

"No, no! Emma, Rory, Doctor, don't leave me!"

* * *

When she woke up again, it was so cold that she thought she had somehow ended up back on the TARDIS, but she opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by frozen meat. "Why am I in a freezer?" She noted the way her voice shook, remembering that she had been crying before she fell asleep. Touching her fingers to her cheek definitely confirmed that, as she felt the remnants of tears. Someone groaned and shifted beneath her and she quickly scrambled off of whoever — or whatever — it was, sighing in relief when she saw that it was just the Doctor. "Why are we in a freezer?"

"Because otherwise we'd be piles of dust right now." He gave her a frustrated look, raising to his feet and pressing his ear against the door. The aliens could be heard screaming. "Okay, where is it?" He pulled out his screwdriver, testing it some before he held out his free hand to Emma. "Take my hand." He helped her to her feet when she did, but rather than letting go, he tightened his grip. "As soon as I open this door, we run? Got it?" They shared a brief nod before he shoved the door open and made the ceiling light explode. As the aliens paused in confusion, he did as he said, running quickly and not even having to drag Emma along as she kept up with him easily. They made it across the street, through somebody's yard, and onto another street, where a pensioner was trying to attack a man in a VW bus.

"Oh, help, somebody!"

They quickly changed the direction in which they had been running, racing towards the bus. "Oh, you couldn't live near the shops, could you?" He pushed the old man away before he shoved Emma into the car, climbing in after her. "It's okay, it's only me!" As Emma and the man climbed into the back of the bus, he started down the road, stopping when he spotted two women that were being attacked by aliens. "Open the door!"

"Come on." Emma helped the man push the door open, waving for the two women to hop in as the Doctor yelled,

"Get in, get in, get in! Quickly, quickly, over here! Quickly, come on, jump in! Quick, get in now, quickly! Hurry up!" He continued to drive, but the women were able to jump in, the second with a bit help from the others that were already on the bus. "Are we in?" He looked in the rearview mirror, grinning when he saw Emma's exasperated eye roll and thumbs up. "Wonderful! Now..." His face fell when he spotted a family of four huddled by a gate. "Come on, let's go, quickly!"

Emma helped the children in first, her chest tightening almost painfully when she realized that, real or not, Addison would never grow up like those children were. Rather than focusing on herself, she pulled the parents into the bus and slid the door shut as the Doctor slammed his foot back down on the accelerator. She looked up when she heard the little girl, "Mummy, I'm scared."

"What's your name?" She asked gently, not wanting to scare the child more.

"A-Addy."

"Addy?" She swallowed hard, but smiled nonetheless. "Beautiful name." She briefly wondered when she'd changed her mind about it. "Let me tell you, Addy, you don't have to be scared, okay? You see that nutter who's driving us?" She made a face as she pointed back at the Doctor, her smile becoming a tad more genuine when Addy laughed. "He's going to save us, I promise you. You, and your mum, and your dad? You're going to be fine. And even though I'm sure your brother is annoying, _sadly_, he'll be fine, too." She gave the girl's brother a smile as well, to let him know she was joking.

As Addy and her brother giggled, hugging their parents tightly, their mother mouthed 'thank you' over their heads. Emma just nodded and made her way up front, sitting in the passenger's seat. She looked up in surprise when the Doctor took one hand off the wheel to grab hers tightly. "Addison had a good mum." He was kind enough to ignore the way her chin quivered at that. They picked up a few more people and even a dog along the way before they pulled up to a church and jumped out of the bus. "Everybody out, out, out! Into the church, that's right! Don't answer the door!" As soon as everyone was running into the churchyard, they moved to get back into the bus and the Doctor made it, but each door slammed shut before Emma could. "Emma!" He tried to open the door, pausing when he spotted something behind her. She spun around to see the Dream Lord.

"You know, I had a lovely chat with Amy." He smirked. "About choices. You know all about that, don't you? Had a nice, little fight about it yourself, I believe. Of course, you had no right to pick a fight with her, did you? Like I said before, she's not the only one who has to make a choice." He stepped forward and she backed up against the bus, even though she knew he couldn't touch her. "You have that idiot fiance of hers who broke your heart, that busy-as-a-bee boyfriend back in Leadworth, and...well, I can't go spoiling things, can I?"

"What are you talking about?" She glanced down the street, hoping she wouldn't be ambushed by old people before he left.

"You haven't realized that there's a third choice yet, have you?" His smirk only grew at the confused look on her face. "So, for now, you just need to choose between Birdo and your boyfriend. Something tells me Jeff's not going to win." With a wink, he was gone and she heard the passenger's side door click open. She shook her head and stumbled towards the other side of the car, huffing when she found the Doctor using his screwdriver on the driver's side.

"Doctor, I'm in."

"Not now, Emma, I'm trying to-" He paused, lifting his head up. "Emma?" He turned around to face her. "Emma!" He looked as if he was going to hug her for a moment, but stopped himself quickly. "No, we can hug later. We need to get to Amy and Rory." He sped off without warning and they actually made it a mile before the Dream Lord popped back up. He appeared in the backseat, this time wearing a race car driver's suit, a helmet in his lap.

"It's make your mind up time in both worlds."

The Doctor looked to the rearview mirror in surprise for a moment. "Bye. I need to find my friends."

"Friends?" He furrowed his brow. "Is that the right word for the people you acquire? _Friends _are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they've grown up." He grinned when he saw Emma's hand slip onto the Doctor's arm as his grip tightened on the steering wheel. "The old man prefers the company of the young, does he not?" At the Doctor's glare, he disappeared.

They finally pulled up to Amy and Rory's cottage, finding that the old people had surrounded it and were trying several different ways to break in. "Okay. Come on, Emma, out my side." He slid out of the car and she followed suit, both of them ducking behind it.

"How the hell are we supposed to get inside?" She hissed. "Should I pretend I'm selling hard candies and occasionally the odd adult nappy, for the right price?" It was said sarcastically, but she saw the look of consideration on his face and quickly said, "I'm not doing that, so don't even think about it."

"Oh, fine." He inched his way towards the very front of the bus and peeked around, gesturing for her to follow. "Right, follow my lead." That said, he jumped out into the open and threw his arms into the air. "It's time for your pills! Morty, you've got Big Blue today, sorry to say it! And, Ruth, is it? Yes, I'd stay around the toilet after you take yours, if I were you." That last bit was stage whispered.

Emma saw him give her an expectant look and she panicked for a moment before stepping out beside him, a large grin on her face. "I've got a nappy if ya need it, Ruth!"

"I thought you weren't going to use that!"

"Well, I panicked, okay?"

There was a series of hissing and they slowly turned to see that the aliens had formed into a tight group and were coming towards them, their eyes sticking out of their mouths. They both screamed and the Doctor wrapped his arm around Emma, guiding her towards the backside of the van. "Go, go, go!" They ran into the front yard and he pushed her towards the trellis. "Climb up, now!"

"I hate heights-" Her eyes widened when she saw his glare. "But I hate getting eaten by weird, old people-slash-aliens more, so up I go!" The climb up was shaky, but quick and she soon made it to the window, shoving it open. "Hi, yeah, just me." She said when Amy and Rory looked over in fear. She stumbled inside when the Doctor gave her foot a light shove.

"Sorry!" His upper half came inside while his legs stayed out for a moment. "We had to stop off at the butcher's." He fell in a heap at Emma's feet.

"What are we going to do?" Rory asked.

He rolled onto his back to look up at them. "I don't know. I thought the freezing TARDIS was real, but now I'm not so sure."

"Where's Addison?"

Emma looked down at her hands at Rory's question. "Uh, she didn't quite make it." Lifting her eyes, she saw the sad looks on both him and Amy's faces, but she was quick to change the subject. "Where's your ponytail?" He opened his mouth to answer and was cut off by a gasp from Amy.

"I think the baby's starting!"

"Honestly?"

"Would I make it up at a time like this?" She nearly yelled.

"Well, you do have a history of..." He stopped at her glare. "...being very lovely." He and the Doctor exchanged a look when she cried out and then a slam sounded. "Why are they so desperate to kill us?"

"They're scared." The Doctor rose to his feet, letting Emma take his place beside Amy. "Fear generates savagery."

A garden statue was suddenly thrown through the window and Rory stood, making his way over to the investigate. Out there stood Mrs. Poggit and she shot her green mist at him as soon as he came close, sending him stumbling back. Amy yelled out his name and Emma cried out, but they both remained on the floor as the Doctor shoved Mrs. Poggit off of the roof. "Rory!" The two girls scrambled to him as he fell to the floor.

"Rory, come on, you're fine." Emma felt tears filling her eyes.

"No." He started to dissolve into dust. "I'm not ready."

"Stay." Amy whispered, stroking his cheek his hair gently.

He fell back against the dresser and muttered, "Look after our baby." Before he dissolved completely, now just a pile of dust between the girls. Emma stood quickly, fighting back tears as she turned around, her hand over her mouth. She heard Amy murmuring for Rory to come back and she bit back a sob.

"Save him. You save everyone, you always do." Amy's voice shook. "It's what you do."

"Not always." The Doctor stayed where he was, avoiding eye contact with her as her hopeful look faded away. "I'm sorry."

"Then _what _is the point of you?"

"Amy." Emma reprimanded her friend half-heartedly, knowing she had every right to be angry at anyone she wanted. The look on the Doctor's face had her closing her eyes for a moment before she approached him, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "What happens if we die in a dream?" She let her hand fall down his arm until it slipped into his.

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "We wake up."

"So, if we died somehow, if we let those old people, or aliens, or _whatever_ kill us..." She didn't realize a tear had fallen down her cheek. "We would wake up? Just like that?"

"Just like that." He nodded, but grabbed ahold of her arm when she tried to walk past him. "But what if this isn't the dream, Emma?"

She looked up at him, giving him a bitter smile. "There's no point in living without Addison and Rory. I'm sorry." She tugged her arm out of his grasp and made her way to the door, waiting there to see if either of them would follow.

"She's right." Amy stood with some help from the dresser. "This has to be the dream because if this is real life, I don't _want it_." She shook her head. "I don't want it." She brushed past him and pulled the door open, walking out. Emma moved to do the same, but stopped and looked back at the Doctor, giving a quick nod toward the hallway.

"Are you coming?"

He made his way to her and reached up to her jaw, brushing her tear away with his thumb before it could drop to the floor. "'Course I am." With that, they made their way downstairs and followed Amy out the front door, expecting to be ambushed by aliens as soon as they made it outside. Only, the old people did nothing, just watched.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Amy yelled.

"Either because this is just a dream, or because they know what we're about to do." They made their way to the bus and she stopped, holding her hand out to the Doctor for the key. "Be very sure. This could be the real world."

"It can't be. Rory isn't here." She whimpered, clearly trying to keep from breaking down. "I didn't know. I didn't, I didn't, I honestly didn't, till right now. I just want him."

"Okay." He handed her the keys before he slipped his hand into hers, grabbing onto Emma's with his free one. "Okay." They split up, Amy going into the driver's side while he and Emma moved to the passenger's door, pausing when they came face to face with the Dream Lord. "In the car, Emma."

Glaring at the Dream Lord, she did as the Doctor said, slipping into the seat and leaving enough room for him to sit. When he climbed in, Amy turned to look at them. "I love Rory, and I didn't tell him, but now he's gone." She put the car into drive, slammed down on the gas pedal, and they sped towards the house.

* * *

When Emma awoke, she was stiff from the cold and she saw the Doctor on the floor in front of her, his face covered with ice. "It was a dream." She gave a small smile, relieved to know that she never had a child to lose and that Rory was alive, as she could feel him shifting slightly behind her. "Or Heaven is _really _crappy." The Doctor started to smile back, but it faded when he heard the Dream Lord's voice.

"So, you chose this world. Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. And with only seconds left." The monitor showed that they were quickly flying away from the cold star. "Fair's fair, let's warm you up." The lights flickered on as he restored the TARDIS' power. "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I've been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell." He disappeared. Amy and Rory pushed up onto their knees to face each other while Emma and the Doctor rose to their feet, the latter going to work the controls on the console.

"Something happened, I...what happened to me? I..." Rory's questions just had Amy leaning forward and hugging him. "Oh. Oh, right. This is good. I am liking this. Was it something I said?" He shivered when she pulled away. "Can you tell me what it was so I can use it in emergencies? And maybe birthdays."

"Rory," Emma called to him, pushing herself up into the jumpseat. "you're an idiot."

"Yeah, but he's _my_ idiot." Amy smiled at Rory for a moment before she looked over her shoulder at the Doctor, not seeing Emma's face fall. "What are we doing now?"

"Me? I'm going to blow up the TARDIS."

"What?"

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was?" He moved to another part of the console. "Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick, but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reailty." He laughed as the TARDIS began to shake rather violently.

Emma stumbled out of the chair and took hold of the console. "Did the cold deteriorate your brain or something?"

"Doctor!" Rory yelled. "The Dream Lord conceded! This isn't the dream!"

"Yes, it is! Star burning cold. Do me a favor!" The Doctor pushed him away when he tried to stop him from his task. "The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams."

"And if you're wrong?" Emma's frustrated look was met with a grin.

"I'm not, because I know who he is." With a yank of a lever, everything around them exploded.

* * *

Emma gave a soft moan, stretching her arms over her head and opening her eyes to find that she was slumped in one of the jumpseats. "I really _did _fall asleep here after Venice." She looked up, seeing that the Doctor was leaning against the console across from her, eyeing something that he held in his hand. "And you were right."

"I'm always right." He didn't even spare her a glance, though he smirked.

"I hate you sometimes, I swear." She rose to her feet and leaned on the console next to him, looking at the glowing specks in his palm. She opened her mouth to ask what they were, but stopped when Amy and Rory appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Any questions?"

Rory laughed and they both jogged down the stairs, Amy asking, "Um, what's that?"

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karassa don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." He made his way to the door and pulled it open, blowing the specks into space.

"So, that was the Dream Lord thing, then?" Rory leaned on the railing. "Those little specks?"

"No, no. No! Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me." He pointed to himself. "Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you. Gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm nine hundred and seven." His voice lowered and he smiled slightly. "It had a lot to go on."

Amy scoffed. "But why didn't it feed on us, too?"

"Darkness in you lot? It would've starved to death in an instant." He walked to another part of the console. "I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise, I'm stuck here with my own company, and you know how that works out." He laughed and she approached him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But those things he said about you. You don't think any of that's true."

He watched her for a moment before he changed the subject. "Amy, a question is about to occur to Rory." He grabbed onto her shoulders and turned her to face her fiance. "And seeing as how the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention." He shoved her forward and walked around the console, not noticing that Emma followed him.

"So, that whole thing about you and Rory sharing me, that was _you _talking?" She saw him jump and he tried to turn it into some sort of dance move, like he'd meant to do it.

"Uh, sort of, yeah. In a manner of speaking-"

"No."

He blinked. "No?"

"No. I'm just not buying that, sorry." She gave a mock sigh, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, you're a mix of a five-year-old and an awkward fifteen-year-old virgin, with the body and face of a twenty-something. Not even whatever dark parts you might have could think up something so vulgar."

"You wouldn't believe what I've thought of in my time, Emma." He was quick to clear his throat. "Anyway, I think we should talk. You know, about Addison-"

"Let's not. She was just a dream and, yeah, it ended horribly, but it was just a dream." She gave him a genuine smile and lifted her hand as if she were going to stroke his cheek, but instead patted it roughly. "Don't worry so much, Time Lord." She turned to find that Amy and Rory were kissing. "Oh, that's disgusting. You have a bedroom for a reason."

The Doctor, however, watched them with a smile. "So," he applauded. "well, then, where now?" His smile fell when he realized they were no longer kissed, but were too caught up in each other to pay much attention to him. "Or should Emma and I just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?"

"I don't know." Rory fully realized he was there, pulling away from Amy. "Anywhere's good for me. I'm happy anywhere. Emma can choose..." They were already kissing again as the Doctor turned to Emma.

"Honestly, I'm up for the swimming pool if..." She trailed off as she watched the couple. "No. Actually, you know what? Could we stop at Leadworth?" She looked to him when he didn't answer, raising an eyebrow when she found him staring at the console in shock. "You alright, Doctor?"

"What?" He looked up at her. "Oh, yeah, fine, perfect! Leadworth, you said?" He started working the controls.

She eyed him warily, but nodded. "Yeah, there's just something I need to figure out, that's all." As she turned away from him and her eyes landed on the loving look that Rory was giving Amy, the Dream Lord's words from before echoed in her mind.

_Something tells me Jeff's not going to win._

* * *

**A/N - I feel as if this was a bit jumpy and confusing, but I did my best, I promise :) Next up we have...what? Not an actual episode, but something that came purely from my mind? Fear not, friends! For the next few chapters are vital, I promise you. Which means you have to read them and not complain. That's right. **_**Have**_** to. (Just kidding, don't hate me, you don't have to do anything) Spelling mistakes for the first half are because I was sleepy when I wrote it. The second half, well...that's just because I'm good at missing keys and hitting the wrong ones, ha.**


	23. The Not-Doctor and Not-Rory

**A/N - Ahhh, you guys are too sweet! Also, holy snap, all of the favorites and follows. Ugh, you are all so brilliant :) If you have an idea for your one-shot present, don't hesitate to drop it in a review or message! I'd like a poll with a variety, and no idea is bad :) I'll probably put the poll up when I post the chapter after this one, just so you know.**

**Ah, just a warning that in my head, Jeff has a bit of a mouth on him. A few curse words scattered here and there. Just a warning in case you don't like that sort of thing.**

**To Esther - I'm glad you're excited :) Thank you! And, yeah, I noticed that there are a couple reviewers whose reviews don't show up for a few days and I don't know why it's happening, but it bugs me.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_'Cause I know that time has numbered my days  
And I'll go along with everything you say  
But I'll ride home laughing, look at me now  
The walls of my town, they come crumbling down_

* * *

Emma looked up at Jeff's house, tapping her foot nervously. She knew exactly why she was nervous. This trip could either end with her leaving her best friend, the possible love of her life, and the Doctor, or it could end with her breaking up with Jeff. It was pretty much a lose-lose situation for her. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and knocked on the door. It wasn't even ten seconds before it was flying open and Jeff had his arms around her, kissing her with possibly all he had in him. In love with him or not — she hoped to figure that one out before the trip was over — she had no problem kissing him and was quick to wrap her arms around his neck.

When he pulled back, he was breathing heavily and his expression was a mix of happiness and relief. "Thank God. I don't know what I would have done if you were just Gran forgetting her keys again." He gave her a chaste kiss, only pulling back enought to speak. "You can't imagine how frustrating it's been, an entire week staying in a shit hotel and playing against idiotic-" He paused at the look of concentration on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just trying to imagine it. Ah, there it is. Seems pretty terrible." She smiled and leaned up to press her lips to his. She could still joke and act relatively normal, which put her at ease. Perhaps making a choice wouldn't be as hard as she expected. The kiss turned passionate in a matter of seconds, the two backing into the house as Jeff reached up to tug lightly on Emma's hair. She kicked the door shut and they barely managed to make it to the couch before they fell. It wasn't until his hand started to slide up her shirt that she realized, she couldn't sleep with him if she was going to break up with him. She just couldn't. Reluctantly, she pushed up off his chest, biting her lip when he took that as the opportunity to kiss down her neck. "Jeff, I think we should-" She gasped softly and she let herself get lost in the feel of his lips steadly making their way over her collarbone before she remembered why she was there, and she quickly scrambled off of him. "Jeff, we can't! I mean...look, I think we need to have a talk before we do anything, okay?"

"Okay." He said cautiously, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "Did something happen while I was gone?" A mixture of fear and excitement flashed through his eyes. "Are you pregnant?"

Her eyes nearly doubled in size. "No! Nothing like that! Lord, I wish it was that simple, I really do." She sighed at the confused look her gave her. "Right, sorry. See, I've been thinking...well, I wasn't thinking until someone sort of _made _me, you now? And I realized that maybe there are some things I need to clear up and figure out." She sat down on the couch, turning to face him. "You have no idea, but I've been travelling...Amy, Rory, and I have been travelling through...God, I don't know how to say this without you thinking that I'm completely mental!"

"Emma, I'm not going to think you're mental." He placed a hand on the side of her face. "You can tell me anything, you know that." His genuinely concerned expression had Emma wondering, for just a moment, if maybe the thoughts that Amy and the Dream Lord put in her head about not loving him were completely ridiculous. Maybe she didn't even have a choice to make, she was truly over Rory and only wanted Jeff. She blinked and furrowed her brow when Jeff's face became Rory's, etched with a familiar concern that had her recent thoughts changing. "Emma?"

She shook her head to snap herself out of it. She needed to focus. "You remember the Doctor, right? The one who helped save the world from that giant eye?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? Wouldn't have my job if it weren't for him. And, you know, that whole 'twenty minutes to the end of the world' sticks with you."

"Right, right. Well, see, the Doctor is a...he's a...that is to say-" The doorbell rang and she tightened her grip on his hands when he tried to stand. "Just leave it for a moment, okay? Because if I don't tell you everything that's going on right now, I'm never going to tell you and I'm never going to make my choice, and it's just going to be this whole big mess..." As she rambled on, the doorbell was pushed repeatedly until she finally gave a frustrated yell and vaulted off of the couch. "Look, now is really not a good..." She froze when she pulled the door open to find the Doctor standing there, his hair sticking up every which way. A quick glance behind him had her seeing Rory, hugging himself and breathing heavily. "...time. What are you doing here? Where's Amy?" Her eyes widened when he grabbed onto her wrist and yanked her outside.

"We have to go."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me? No, _you _have to go! I have some things to do and I can't have you all messing it up, okay? Because if I get distracted then I'm never going to get this done and-"

"Emma," his grip tightened. "you can snog Jeff later. We have to go, _now_."

She had barely opened her mouth to retort before there was a body shoving between them. "Get your hands off of- Doctor?" Jeff stepped aside, looking between Emma and the Doctor in confusion.

"Yes, hi, hello, I'm back! How've you been? That's good. Let's go!" He grabbed onto each of their wrists and tried to drag them away, but a crash coming from the kitchen had Jeff slipping out of his grip. A rather forced panicked look appeared on his face. "No! Haven't you watched enough of those ridiculous, human horror movies to know that you _shouldn't _investigate strange noises?"

"Says the man who investigates every strange noise." Emma hissed and tugged her wrist away, though she glanced back to the kitchen nervously as she backed into the house. "Now, if you three will go off to the Fifth Moon of whatever-" There was a scream, a deep scream that echoed from the kitchen that would have had her running had it not been for the Doctor darting around her and slamming the door shut. "Doctor..." His name was said with caution and she stepped back, knowing something was very wrong. When his eyes flashed red, her suspicions were confirmed. "Oh, lovely. What have we got this time?" As she continued to back away slowly, she didn't remember that Rory was behind her until he made a grab for her. She reacted quickly and stumbled back towards the Doctor, which wasn't exactly much better. She stood smack dab in the middle of the two, frozen as they approached her slowly. A quick glance to the front door and she knew she wouldn't make it before the probably-an-alien-Doctor grabbed her. It took her all of two-point-four seconds to remember that she needed to get to the kitchen and just around the other side of the house, there was a door that would lead her to her destination. "Brilliant acting, I must say. You actually had me fooled for a minute, but I should probably..." She gave a nervous laugh before she ran.

"Run, run, run!" The Doctor's cruel laughter faded away as she made her way to the back of the house. Much to her dismay, the french door was _gone_. The door frame was still there, of course, but the rest of it was missing.

She stepped into the kitchen warily, glass from the door crunching beneath her feet. "Jeff?" There was no blood and that would have been a good sign if the room hadn't been completely empty, save for a forgotten pot that she could only assume was used as a weapon. "Jeff?" She pushed the door open and peeked out into the corridor, satisfied to find that the front door was still shut. Either her friends' doubles got bored, or they were taking the long way around to get her. That would give her time to escape and find Jeff if he wasn't in the house. "Jeff, if you're here, a little hint would be nice!" She was going to go as far as looking behind the television when she heard a deep chuckle.

"Jeff's well on his way by now, I'm sure."

She turned around to face the Doctor. His eyes flashed red again and she took a step back. "I am completely sure that you lot are incredibly hostile aliens who are going to kill me within the next three minutes, but there's no harm in asking; who the hell are you? And what have you done with my friends?" She continued to back away until she hit a chair or an end table, she wasn't sure which.

"My, my, my, just friends?" He made his way to her while Rory stood back. "Isn't the one your boyfriend? At least, that's what you told this one..." He pulled the lapel of his coat out to eye it in disgust.

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend. 'Course he's my boyfriend." She said too quickly. "It's just that saying 'my friends and boyfriend' would have been too...oi!" She glared at him as he gave her a smirk. "Don't avoid the questions! What are you? Are you possessing them somehow? Can you copy bodies?" As she asked, she was slowly coming up with a plan. She would find out where they were keeping everyone — if they weren't possessing them, that is — and then she would run away. It wasn't a Doctor-worthy plan, but it just might help her save her friends. And boyfriend, of course. Deep down, she knew exactly why she kept forgetting that part, but she pushed that aside to focus on the task at hand. She regretted that soon enough as she mistakenly glanced at the door and her plan came crumbling down around her.

"Rory," the Doctor snapped his fingers, keeping his eyes on Emma as he pointed towards the front door. "guard the door, would you?" He noticed the way she closed her eyes in frustration and he gave a loud laugh. "This is gonna be fun. Look at you, acting all brave. You haven't been brave since you were a little girl." He repeated the words she'd said over the radio when they dealt with the Weeping Angels. "What happened?"

"Oh, I don't know, I changed?" Her sarcastic tone had him quickly closing the distance between them and as he raised his hand, she honestly thought he was going to slap her, but instead he stroked her cheek gently. "What are you doing?" Her voice trembled and she cursed herself for it.

"I don't think you're very brave at all."

"You don't _know _me."

"No, but he does." He grinned. "And now I do." His fingers curled into his palm and he reeled his arm back, not giving her time to even try and duck as he sent his fist into her face. The hit was hard enough to knock her out and he lifted her into his arms before she could fall. "Oh, bless that idiot Doctor for coming here and bringing us so many friends."

* * *

**A/N - I'm a lot sorry. Like, twelve sorries. No, but really! I'm sorry that this is way late and I'm sorry if it's confusing. Original chapters are far different than canon episodes, really. It took me forever to decide which way was best to go with this and, believe it or not, this was it. I promise, everything will be explained in the next chapters and I'm hoping to update quickly :) Spelling mistakes are from pure tiredness.**


	24. Secretive

**A/N - The poll for a one-shot present is up :) Go to my profile and vote for your favorite! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_Tell me, would you kill to save a life?  
Tell me, would you kill to prove you're right?  
Crash, crash, burn, let it all burn  
This hurricane's chasing us all underground_

* * *

When Emma came to, there was pain radiating through her cheek and she wasn't entirely sure what had happened. She was going to tell Jeff about how the Doctor was an alien and she'd been travelling with him, but...she didn't. Why didn't she? That's the moment it all came rushing back so quickly that it almost made her head hurt. Right, they'd been interrupted by the Doctor and Rory, who were either possessed or evil doppelgangers, and then Jeff was taken. She figured she must have been taken, too, when she realized that she couldn't move her arms and when she tried, a rough material scraped against her skin. She hesitantly blinked her eyes open and found herself staring at a dining table. A quick glance left and right told her that her wrists were tied to the arms of a chair. "Oh, what the hell?" She groaned. Evidently, while she was unconscious, they had put a dress on her. It wasn't the dress itself that bothered her, she loved dresses, it was just the thought of what creepy reason they wanted her in a dress for, not to mention the fact that they had to take her other clothes off to get the dress on. She was just about ready to get sick all over the china plate in front of her and then she heard a familiar voice.

"What the fuck is going on?"

She could have cried when she saw the man tied up across the table from her — wearing his own clothing, unlike her. "Jeff, you're okay!" She was more thankful for the fact that she wasn't alone and she hated herself for being so self-centered.

"You're not." He eyed the large bruise that was high on her cheekbone. "Is that what you were going to tell me? The Doctor's a psychotic arsehole?"

"The Doctor didn't do this. Well, he did, but it wasn't _him_. His eyes went all-"

"Red." The fear that he'd been holding back was now evident in his eyes. "Yeah, that happened when Amy attacked me in the kitchen."

"Amy was the one who-" She cleared her throat. "Right, we'll talk about that later, right now we need to get out of here. Can you escape at all?" She ignored the way his eyes widened and he called her name, focused on trying to slip her hand out from under the rope. "If I could just-" There was suddenly a hand grasping her jaw and tilting her head up, while another held the blade of a knife to her throat. "Oh, that can't be good." She was trying to keep her fear at bay and she was doing a rather good job so far.

"It's not good at all, sweetheart."

Hearing the Doctor's doppelganger's voice, she gave a light huff. "Honey, you're home. Sorry there's no dinner on the table, I was a bit _tied up_." Seeing the look on Jeff's face, she realized that she probably shouldn't banter and instead should focus on not having her throat slit. She opened her mouth to say something, but that just turned into her jaw dropping when another person came into view. A person who look identical to her and just so happened to be wearing the outfit that she had been before. "Well," her fear was beginning to show, if only a little. "that explains the change of clothes, then."

"Emma?" Jeff looked between the two with pure terror in his eyes. "There are two of you. Why the hell are there two of you?"

"I don't know." She forced a tight smile. "But that's it, then? You just replicate people's bodies? Don't you have your own?" She winced slightly when she felt the knife dig into her skin, and she saw Jeff tense across the table.

"We do more than just replicate bodies." Her copy smirked. "My name is Emelyne Walker, I'm twenty-two years old, I have severe daddy issues, and I'm travelling with the Doctor." Her smirk only widened when her gaze landed on a now confused Jeff. "And this here is my boyfriend." She stepped up behind his chair, running her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. "For now."

Emma just blinked for a moment. "Does my voice really sound like that?" Her remark had the Doctor's double raising the knife and slicing over the bruise on her cheek, causing her to cry out. Jeff would have jumped across the table had it not been for the ropes around his wrists and the hands on his chest holding him back. "Well, if we're going to be cutting me, then it's only fair you answer some questions. Where's the Doctor?"

"Can I keep her, Faeles? Being the Doctor is giving me all these _feelings_." Evidently, the man in question's twin didn't intend to answer her question. "You get to keep Jeff, why can't I keep her?"

"What?" Jeff's confused look quickly turned back to horror when Faeles ran her — technically, Emma's — nails down his cheek. "Keep me? No, no, no, no!" He looked to Emma for help, but she had her gaze on her double, though her eyes filled with a fear and would every so often flick to the knife that was at her throat again.

"No, Canis, you can't keep her. Jeff doesn't have such a good name to ruin and we can't have the Doctor _or _any of his companions running around, can we? Kill her." She butted her head against Jeff's as if she were a cat, much to his disgust.

"Do I have to ask again?" Emma spat, managing to hide her fear, though she could tell that Canis was getting ready to slit her throat. "Where's the Doctor?"

Faeles' eyes flashed red and she stalked over to her, leaning over to get in her face. "And what would you do if I told you that he and your little friends are dead?" Her growing smirk was gone in a flash when a crash sounded from below them.

_"I'm free!"_

_"Oi, Doctor, shut up, you idiot!"_

"I don't think I'd believe you." It was Emma's turn to smirk as Faeles turned and slammed her fist on the table.

"Canis, find Vulpes and Accipiter, I'll take care of them." She paused when she noticed Emma's sigh of relief as the knife left her throat, leaning down once more. "But I think I'll toy with them a little first. After all," she reached up to tap her on the chin. "I know how you feel about Rory." She sent a wink Jeff's way before she left the room, Canis following after.

Emma finally let her fear out in a shaky breath, closing her eyes to try and calm her racing heart. She only opened her eyes when she heard Jeff speak. "What was she talking about?" He eyed her cautiously. "All that stuff about the Doctor, travelling with him? What did she mean by that?"

"Oh." That certainly didn't help to slow her heart. The courage she'd built up to tell him earlier had fled long ago. Thankfully, she was saved from answering when she spotted something hang precariously off the edge of the table. "I'll explain it later." She reached out for the handle of the knife, her fingertips brushing it. "The Doctor's evil twin is an idiot." Though, rather surprsingly, she didn't even need the knife, as her wrist's strain against the ropes made them loosen. "That was lucky." She mumbled to herself. She was able to slide her hand free with some difficulty before she grabbed the knife and used it to cut her other wrist free. She really didn't want to waste time untying knots because Faeles and Canis would probably be back before she'd even gotten Jeff free. Speaking of, as she walked over to him, he was giving her a wary look.

"Why are you acting like you're used to this?"

She sawed at the rope around his right wrist. "Sorry?" As soon as the rope split, she moved to his other side.

"You're acting like you've done this before. You're not even scared."

"What?" She freed his other wrist. "Of course I'm scared. What makes you think I'm not scared?"

"Oh, I don't know." He stood almost angrily, following her towards the door. "You're bleeding and you've barely even flinched? You know, you've been acting weird ever since I got back." He sighed when he realized she was ignoring him. "Can we talk about this or-" He was cut off by her shushing him. She pushed the door open and peeked outside before she gave him a thumbs up and stepped out. They entered a living room of some sort, open space to their right, a staircase in front of them, and a hallway to their left. "Emma-"

"We'll talk about it later." She moved towards the stairs, only making it one or two steps before he had grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"Why do you keep saying that?" He hissed. "I want you to tell me now! What were you going to say about the Doctor earlier? What the hell is up with your creepy twin? What did she mean when she said you were travelling with the Doctor? What about how you feel about Rory? Just tell me!"

She wrenched her arm out of his grip. "Would you keep your voice down? If I tell you, you're gonna get even louder and then my _creepy twin _will find us and kill us. We can talk about this when we're safe, okay?"

"You know what? No! Because then you'll just come up with another excuse not to tell me anything. You've never been this secretive, Em, just tell me what's going on. What happened while I was gone?"

"Jeff..." Her eyes searched his face. "Maybe we should split up." She cursed herself for not telling him, but she knew they only had a small amount of time before the doppelgangers showed up. "You get out of here and go home, I'll find Amy, Rory, and the Doctor."

"See, there you go! Another excuse not to tell me. And - and you're acting all warrior-like and trying to protect me, when _I _should be the one protecting _you_." The look on his face after the words left his lips made it clear that he realized that he should have worded that better.

Emma's eyebrows shot up and she gave a scoffed laugh. "Yeah, you should definitely go home."

"You know that's not what I-"

"Leave, Jeff."

"I just want to know what's going on with you!" Noticing quickly how loud he was and the way she took a step back, he lowered his voice. "I just want to know what's going on with you. I love you and if something's wrong, you need to tell me, so I can fix it. Just..." He shook his head and turned around, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

As Emma watched him, she started to soften. Hearing him say that he loved her reminded her of the whole reason she came here; her choice between him and Rory. She, of course, still had no clue what her choice was, as she didn't have time to think about it what with the whole being-kidnapped-by-evil-twins thing. With a soft huff, she opened her mouth to say something, only for a hand to be slipped over it. The knife clattered from her hand to the floor as an arm wrapped around her waist and began dragging her away.

She was really starting to hate Leadworth.

* * *

**A/N - I really wanted to finish this last night, but I got so tired and I was very angry at myself for making you guys wait so long :/ This chapter was so hard to write and I hope you all like it, because I don't, haha. But just to let you know, I have some future plans for this story (as in the end of this story, around The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang) that you'll probably all like that involves death and romance ;) Any guesses as to who the 'kidnapper' is? It might be an evil double, **_**or**_**...**


	25. I Don't Love You

**A/N - Man, I really sort of want to write an 1800's AU. I can't, though, because it will take my attention away from this, ugh. Anyway, vote on the poll if you haven't, I'll probably be closing it very soon! Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows :)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_When you go  
Would you have the guts to say  
I don't love you  
Like I loved you yesterday_

* * *

It wasn't until Emma was trapped inside a closet with her captor that she finally managed to scream. Their hand pressed tighter against her mouth as they quickly shushed her. "Emma, quiet, it's me! It's the Doctor." Her screaming stopped, not because she believed him — he could be Canis for all she knew — but because she was rather confused. If it really was the Doctor, why would he pull her into a closet? She heard footsteps outside the door before Jeff called out,

_"Emma? Em? Oh, of course you ran away." _His footsteps began to fade away and that's when Emma realized — if it was Canis who'd captured her, then she was alone with him and royally screwed. She was seriously considering screaming again and that's when his hand disappeared and a light flickered on. The space would be too small for even one person, so they were pressed tightly together, panting against each other's faces. It took a quick glance down his body for Emma to realize it was actually him, as he wasn't wearing wearing his normal clothing, but instead a surprisingly well-tailored suit. She found herself torn between slapping him and hugging him.

"You scared me half to death!" She managed to move enough to slap him in the stomach. "I thought you were one of the evil twins! Why would you do that? Was walking up and saying, 'Hi, Jeff and Emma!' too hard for you? No, you had to cover my mouth and drag me into a cupboard!"

"Are you finished?" He hissed. "I did that because I wasn't sure if that was really Jeff or not, alright? Knew for a fact you were you because I've already dealt with your double." He got lost in his thoughts for a moment, starting to smirk.

"Did she say anything?" She asked and he shook himself out of his thoughts, giving her a confused look. "You know, about Rory...or Jeff."

"Oh! No, she didn't." He gave her a reassuring smile, even as he went on to say, "She just kissed Rory and me, then Amy knocked her out with a chair." He didn't notice the horror in her eyes, his gaze going to the bruise and cut on her cheek. "Who did this to you?" He reached up to grab her chin, only to slam his elbow against the door. "Ow!" He stumbled back the one inch that was left in the closet and then proceeded to get his foot caught on something on the floor, which sent him forward. He slammed his hands against the wall on either side of Emma's head to keep himself from crushing her. That only served to make the space even smaller and there was barely a quarter of an inch between the walls and his arms, but he was more focused on the sight in front of him. A heaving chest, barely concealed by a little, black dress. "Better question, what are you wearing?"

She wanted to wrap her arms around herself, but with his new position she found she couldn't. "Oh, I could ask you the same thing, dapper boy! Seems to me that our twins only have formal clothing lying around. And _your _doppelganger did this." She ignored his guilty look. "Hit me to knock me out, cut me because I don't know how to shut up." She squirmed, beginning to feel overheated and a tad claustrophobic. "Could we get out of here now?"

"Right. Yes. Of course." With a bit of maneuvering and perhaps a few minor bruises, he had turned and grabbed the doorknob. He gave it a jiggle before he chuckled quietly. "Emma, I'm going to tell you something, and I'm going to need you to promise not to slap me."

"Okay." She said warily. "I promise not to slap you."

"Lovely! Because the door's locked."

Her face went completely blank. "What?" Blankness turned to anger and she quickly shoved him. "Move, let me try!"

"I know how to open a- ow! Fine." He wiggled back as much as he could, though he still ended up pressed tightly against her back as she tried to open the door. "Ha! See? It's locked!" His laugh of triumph soon turned to a choking noise when her backside met his front. "Emma, what are you- oh." He sighed with relief when she slammed her shoulder into the door. "You're just knocking the door down." It took a moment for his eyes to widen. "You're knocking the door down! No, move, I'll do it." They twisted around again until he was in front of the door.

"Don't you have your sonic?"

"Right, Emma, why didn't think I of that?" He grunted as he rammed against the door. "Oh, because it's in my jacket which is on a Mammaliaforme!"

She furrowed her brow, ducking under his arm to look him in the face. "What the hell is a Mammaliaforme?"

"_They _are. Horrible species, they take the form and memories of someone important, kill them, and then destroy their name. Can't blame them for changing their looks, they're not the prettiest-" He gave a rather high-pitched scream as the door disappeared and he grabbed onto Emma, dragging her down to the floor with him.

"You're on my hair, you idiot!" She shoved him away and as she pushed up onto her hands and knees, she saw herself staring at Amy and Rory. At least, she thought it was them until she saw that they were smirking and Rory held the knife in his hand. She swallowed hard as the light reflected off the blade. "Vulpes and Accipiter, I presume?"

"Who are you talking- oh. What are you two doing up here? I told you to stay downstairs!" He started to stand up, only for Emma to put a hand on his shoulder and lean over to whisper in his ear. "What?" His eyes widened. "Oh." He gave the doppelgangers a tight smile before he turned to whisper, "Should we run? I think we should run."

"Yes, run." They joined hands before they scrambled to their feet and headed for the corridor that lead to the front door, only to be cut off by Canis, who had a hold of a struggling Jeff. Remembering the two injuries she'd gotten from the doppelganger, Emma decided to put a little space between them and stepped behind the Doctor. "Maybe the other way, Doctor?" There was in arm around her shoulders and she was yanked back by Rory's double, her hand being torn from the Doctor's and a knife being held to her throat yet again. "Doctor!"

He spun around, anger flashing through his eyes. "Let her go!" His yell blended with Jeff's and for a second they glared at each other, but it was cut short as Emma was shoved roughly to the floor. "Hey! Don't you dare-" His almost-threat was cut off when a body slammed into his and he and Jeff landed in a heap beside Emma.

"Oi, get off me!" A muffled voice sounded through the room before the door that lead to the basement burst open and out walked Faeles, dragging Amy and Rory behind her. As she threw them down on the floor with the others and joined the rest of the Mammaliaformes, the Doctor glared at the two.

"Really?" He hissed. "Last I left you, she was tied up!"

Rory just looked at his hands. "She's stronger than she looks, okay?"

"Doctor, you got any brilliant ideas in that head of yours?" Emma crawled back, eyeing the doubles warily as they approached.

"Um, no...wait! We're dealing with Mammaliaformes, yes?" He didn't wait for any of them to answer. "And I've fought with them before and I remember winning. But how did I do it?" In his head he was pacing back and forth, as he figured standing up wouldn't be the best idea at the moment. "I made them weak, I remember that much, but how? How did I make them weak? How did I do it? How-"

"How?" Amy, Jeff, and Emma yelled in unison.

He looked surprised for a moment, but realization soon flashed through his eyes. "I made them weak! Mammaliaformes are weaker in their true form! And to get them back to their true form, you, um..." He blinked. "Draw the curtains! No, no, that can't be right...draw their portrait? No!" He snapped his fingers suddenly, a smile taking over his face. "You draw their blood! Even a little nick while shaving will turn them back!"

"Do you really think you'll even get close enough for that before we kill you?" Faeles spat. "Accipiter, kill the Doctor first."

As Rory's doppelganger stepped forward, the knife he held glinted in the light yet again and it caught Emma's eye. In two seconds, she come up with a sloppy plan that would most likely end horribly, but she went through with it anyway. "No!" She leaped after that, aiming to tackle him.

"Emma!" Jeff's hand was around her ankle in an instant, pulling her down before she could reach her destination. Luckily, she hit Accipter's legs and sent him toppling over, the knife flying through the air. She quickly scrambled up onto her knees, holding her hand out and praying that she didn't end up with a blade through her palm, and she could have cried out in relief when she grasped the handle of the knife.

"Canis, stop her!"

Next thing she knew, the Doctor's double had grasped her wrist tightly, so tightly that one little twist could probably break it. She turned her head and saw that the actual Doctor had his hand held out, keeping Amy, Rory, and Jeff back and watching her with bated breath. She gave a strangled gasp as Canis grabbed her jaw with his free hand and yanked her back to face him. "You know, little girl's shouldn't play with knives." He sneered, almost hesitantly. "It might end up inside their heart."

"Well," she smiled up at him, trying to hide her fear. "thank God I'm not a little girl, then." Before he could stop her, she'd lifted the hand he didn't have a hold of and grabbed the knife, slashing over the back of his hand. He screamed, shoving her back and stumbling back himself, grasping desperately at the wound. The Mammaliaformes no longer kept their attention on her and the others, instead gathering around Canis.

"Damn you!" He yelled at Emma as she was quickly dragged back by Jeff. "I'll kill you! I swear, I will-" He suddenly cried out, slamming down onto his hands and knees. The other aliens made no move to help him, looking down at him blankly. As he screamed and cried, black fur began sprouting from beneath his clothes, claws formed at the tip of his fingers, and his eyes turned red. His sounds of pain didn't end until Amy had her head buried in Rory's shoulder, Jeff was clinging tightly to Emma, and all that was left was a dog. It looked like a fairly normal mutt, with wild black fur, but its red eyes told a whole different story.

"I suggest you leave now." The Doctor finally rose to his feet, the Mammaliaformes turning to face him. "You've had your fun and you've failed. The most important one of you, the one who managed to be _me_ and had all _my _memories, is now back to being a...puppy." He smirked when Canis growled at him. "Oh, shut up! I could step on your paw and you'd be in pain for three hours. You lot, you have the lowest pain tolerance in the universe when you're not imitating other species."

Emma gulped slightly as she watched the him. His tone of voice was dark and she knew he had his outbursts, but seeing him like that was almost frightening. She was broken out of her thoughts when she noticed that Canis was glaring at her. Could dogs even glare? "Canis, go." Faeles waved her hand to dismiss him and he hesitated slightly before he disappeared in an orb of light. "Alright, we'll leave, Doctor." She stepped towards him until they were nearly toe to toe. "But don't think this is the last you'll see of me."

"Oh, believe me, I don't." He clasped his hands behind his back. "But here's a little spoiler for you," he leaned forward. "you're going to fail next time, too."

Rather than transforming from force and being in severe pain, in the blink of an eye there was a hissing cat standing at the Doctor's feet. The cat turned around and meowed at Rory's and Amy's doubles, which soon turned to a hawk and a fox, respectively. The only thing that kept each of them from being mistaken as a normal animal was their red eyes. Three flashes of light and they were gone.

"Well, that was unsurprisingly easy!" The Doctor turned to face the others, his cheerful disposition back. "They may act all tough, but they're pathetic, honestly." He slapped his hands together. "Who's up for a nice cuppa?"

"Tea?" Jeff's voice trembled with anger and possibly fear as he stood, pulling Emma up with him. "We were just kidnapped by some weird...alien creature things, and you want to go and get tea? Act like nothing happened?" His harsh tone had the Doctor shrinking back slightly, but he glared at him as he did so.

"Yes, tea!" Amy cut in quickly. "I could go for some tea, couldn't you, Rory? Let's go!" She dragged Rory away before he could protest, pulling him right towards the door. The Doctor hesitantly trailed after.

"Why are you all acting like nothing happened?" Jeff turned to Emma. "And you! You went and tackled some evil alien without a second thought! Yeah, he's really weak apparently, but you didn't know that." He paused, brow furrowing. "Did you? Em, you _need _to start answering my questions."

Emma stared up at him for a moment, still trying to process just how quickly the Doctor had managed to get the aliens to leave so quickly and how dark he had been while doing it. Maybe he really was more like the Dream Lord than she thought... She shook her head to rid her mind of the thoughts, letting Jeff's words sink in. "Oh." There it was. The reason she'd come to Leadworth in the first place. She had to talk to Jeff, get it all out and see if she still honestly wanted to be with him or if she preferred being on the TARDIS. With Rory. And Amy and the Doctor, of course. Slipping her hand into his, she said, "Jeff, it's definitely time that I answered your questions."

* * *

"The Doctor's an alien?"

"Yes."

"And you've been travelling with him, Amy, and Rory?"

"Yep."

"Through time and space, in a blue box."

"Yes."

Jeff huffed. "Shit."

"Yeah." They were sitting on his bed, not even noticing the muffled sounds of the Doctor telling a joke to Amy and Rory as the three had tea in the kitchen. She told him almost everything that she'd refused to tell him about, excluding her choice and her feelings for Rory, and she didn't feel much better. There was still a weight on her chest and she couldn't figure out why.

"I kissed another girl."

It took her a moment to process Jeff's unexpected admission, but when she did, Emma thought her heart would break in two. She thought she would tear up, or maybe her grip would tighten on the edges of the mattress. She hoped and prayed for one of them, but when all she felt was slight offense, she found the answer she'd been searching for since she'd come to Leadworth. As Jeff rambled on about how the kiss meant nothing, how his team went out to celebrate their win and he'd had too much to drink, how he'd pushed the girl away immediately, she said, "I don't love you." The weight on her chest disappeared in an instant.

"What?" His eyes widened. "No, please don't say that. I swear, it didn't mean anything to me, I don't want us to break up over it-"

"I don't love you, Jeff. I don't think I ever have." She stood up when he did, biting her bottom lip as he started to walk away. "Look, I wish I did, I _thought _I did, but...I don't." She stepped up behind him, lifting her hand as if to touch his shoulder, but decided against it. "I care about you a lot, but I'm just not in love with you."

"It's the Doctor, isn't it?" He turned around to face her.

Her eyebrows shot up at that and she took a step back. "What? No! What would make you think that?"

"Well, for starters, you ran off with him." He sounded bitter about it, but not angry, like she'd expected. "You listen to what he says, you called _his _name when you were in trouble. If you love him-"

"I don't." She nearly laughed. "It's not about loving anybody else, I promise!" She lied. "I just don't feel that way about you, Jeff." She watched as his eyes searched her face for a moment before he sighed and sat back down on the bed. "I don't want to do this." She lowered beside him. "But I think I have to. It's going to be far better for both of us if we find people we were meant to be with."

"I thought you were it, you know." He grabbed onto her hands. "I thought we'd get married and have, like, twenty kids and a dog. As long as its eyes aren't red." They shared a short laugh and he pressed his forehead to hers.

"Twenty kids, though? I draw the line at seven." She gave a soft sigh, closing her eyes to try and keep her tears at bay. "Jeff, I am really, very so-"

The door suddenly burst open and in walked the Doctor. "Emma, I've finished my tea and I'm bored, we're leav-" His words died on his lips as he noticed their position. "Oh. Or perhaps Amy, Rory, and I will take our leave and you two can-"

"No." Emma shook her head, pulling away from Jeff. "We should go." She looked back at him with remorse, squeezing his hands. "I should go. I really am sorry." She tugged out of his grasp and stood, pushing past the Doctor, who look between the two in confusion before he ran after her.

"Emma!" He followed her past Amy and Rory, through the corridor, and right out the front door. "Emma?"

"Let me just say bye to..." Rory trailed off when Amy chased after the two. "To no one, apparently." He mumbled to himself, stalking outside.

"Emma, slow down!" The Doctor grabbed her arm to turn her around as they reached the TARDIS. "What was that about, then? One minute you're all over each other, the next you're apologizing and running off. What happened?"

"I broke up with him, that's what happened."

"What?" Something unrecognizable flashed in his eyes and he quickly cleared his throat. "What did you do that for?"

"I don't love him."

"Then _why _are you crying?" He tilted his head to the side.

She furrowed her brow and lifted her hand to find that there were tears streaming down her cheeks. "He loved me." She whispered. "He loved me and he wanted to marry me!" Her voice raised as she held back a sob. "And he wanted to have kids and get a dog and - and somehow I still don't love him! God, I am no better than my father right now." As the words tumbled past her lips, her eyes widened. She had yet to tell the Doctor about her father leaving, and he was sure no one else had told him. Amy wouldn't, Rory hadn't been alone with him at all.

"What? What does that mean?" He had no time to catch her before she fled into the TARDIS. "Emma, wait!" He moved to follow, but Amy pulled him back and went in herself. "What does that mean?" He turned to face Rory.

"Not my story to tell, Doctor." Rory gave him a too-hard pat on the back before he headed into the blue box.

The Doctor stayed outside for a moment or two, wracking through his brain for a memory of Emma saying something about her father, but he found nothing. Sighing, he began to step into the TARDIS, pausing halfway in the doorway when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He leaned back, looking at his dark surroundings. "Hello?" When all he was met with was the sound of crickets, he shrugged and headed inside. He didn't notice the red eyes watching him from beneath a bush.

* * *

**A/N - You didn't think I would have the aliens leave THAT easily, did you? Anywho, this wasn't my best, but I hope you liked it. I wonder if the Doctor will give up finding out about Emma's father, or be rather persistent... Next up is The Hungry Earth!**


	26. The Ground's Attacking Us

**A/N - Not only do I want to do an 1800's AU, but also a Warm Bodies AU (As in based off of Warm Bodies) or a Hogwarts AU. So many AUs. Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites :)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

_So cold, I know you can't believe it  
Someimes you got to face the feeling  
When you don't care if you get up again  
There's a thousand things I will not understand  
How you're dealing with the hell I put you through  
If I had my way, I would be right there next to you_

* * *

Amy leaned against the doorjamb of Emma's bedroom, arms crossed over her chest. While she didn't particularly like seeing her best friend crying, she wasn't about to make her think she agreed with what she'd said. "I should kill you, y'know."

"Oh, thanks." She tried to glare at her, but her trembling chin made it far less harsh than she wanted it to be. "That's comforting."

"I'm not trying to _be _comforting." She pushed herself out of the doorway and sat down on the bed. "You and your dad are complete opposites and if you ever compare yourself to him again, me and Rory'll murder you." She gave Emma a light punch to the shoulder, trying to get her to stop crying. "Look, you did the right thing, yeah? You didn't love Jeff, I knew that, and it's better to be honest with him than to end up divorcing in fifteen years and destroying your kids' lives."

"You really _aren't_ trying to be comforting, are you?" Emma wiped away her tears. "And why should I listen to you? You're not exactly an expert on relationships."

Amy raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips slightly. "I'm going to assume that you're just lashing out at me. But listen, you're not like your father, so buck up and-"

"Oh, that's not even why I'm really crying." Emma sighed when her friend gave her a confused look. "I mean, yeah, I feel awful for leaving Jeff, but...Amy, the Doctor's going to want to know about my father. If he asks, I don't know if I can-" She hiccupped. "Oh, God, I'd really like to stop crying now and possibly forever."

"Okay, look, how's about I convince the Doctor to take us on a trip? You'll be distracted and he'll be too excited to ask any questions." Her eyes lit up. "We could go to Rio!"

"Amy, as much as I'd love to go to Rio right now," Emma rubbed her eyes. "I'd much rather change out of this stupid dress and maybe take a nap." She almost felt bad when her friend deflated. "Sorry, but I'm knackered from, you know, getting kidnapped and breaking up with Jeff and all..." She trailed off, looking down at her hands. "I'm not ready to face the Doctor yet, anyway." She ran a hand through her hair. "Maybe after a bit of a nap, then I'm all for Rio."

"Right, yeah, I get it." Amy stood, going towards the door, but stopping halfway outside of the room. "Hey, I know you're drained and all, but there's something I've been meaning to ask. Somethin' that your, uh, double said...about you liking Rory."

Emma's heart just about stopped. The Doctor had told her that Faeles didn't say anything about Rory. She wasn't exactly surprised that he lied, but fear still shot through her as she tried to come up with a believable answer. "Of course I like Rory!" She rushed out, cursing herself for speaking so quickly. "He's my best friend. Well, if you died he would be my best friend." She tried her hardest to joke, stumbling over her words slightly from nerves and remnants of crying.

"Thanks." She rolled her eyes almost playfully. "Just thought I should ask. Now, I'll go and change out of _my _stupid dress," she tugged at the yellow fabric. "you enjoy your nap while I pester the Doctor to go to Rio." She paused when she noticed the nervous look in her friends eyes. "You okay? Stupid question, yeah, but I can tell there's something that you're not telling me. I can always tell."

"Amy, I'm fine. It's just everything with Jeff, okay? Trust me." As she forced a smile, all she could think was, _if you knew how I felt about Rory, you'd never trust me again. And I wouldn't blame you. _She waited until Amy had shut the door before her smile dropped and tears filled her eyes. "Stop crying, you're fine." Taking a deep breath, she stood and walked over to the mirror, tensing when she saw that she still wore the necklace Jeff had given her. She didn't even realize that Faeles hadn't taken it. She reached back and hastily unclasped it with some difficulty before she threw it somewhere on the floor. She tugged off the dress as quickly as she could and threw on the first pyjamas she found, climbing into bed with no hesitation. As she drifted off to sleep, she tried to keep her thoughts away from the four men that seemed to be ruining her. Jeff, Rory, the Doctor, and her father.

* * *

She awoke to her bed shaking violently. She cracked an eye open to see Amy at the foot of her bed, holding onto the edge of the mattress and shaking it. "Get up! We're going to Rio!" Amy's eyes narrowed when Emma just pulled the blankets over her head. "Oi, no, you don't!" She made her way to the side of the bed and yanked the covers off with no difficulty at all. "You had your nap and now we're going to Rio. I'm not gonna let you just sit in here and sulk, you're going to move on and face the Doctor. Is that clear?"

Emma stared up at her for a moment, a tad upset with herself for choosing a best friend that gave tough love unless the situation was deadly serious. "Crystal." She said bitterly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up. After shooing Amy from her room and getting changed, she made her way into the console room, purposely avoiding the Doctor's gaze when it landed on her. She'd speak to him and act normal, sure, but she knew that if she spoke to him now, he'd ask about her father.. She moved to stand by Amy and Rory, offering a smile and furrowing her brow when the latter gave her a slightly disgusted look before stepping over to the door. She looked to Amy in confusion, but all she could offer her was a shrug.

"Rio awaits." Rory stated rather impatiently.

"Right. 'Course it does." The Doctor passed by, eyeing Emma as he did. His attention was soon drawn away as he plastered on a smile and made his way to the doors, Amy close behind and Emma following slowly. "Behold..." He threw the door open. "Rio!"

Amy stepped out first, her smile fading when she saw, not Rio, but a church cemetery. "Nuh-uh."

"Not really getting the sunshine, carnival vibe." Rory walked out behind her.

"No!" The Doctor nearly yelled, getting in his face slightly. "Ooh!" His head snapped forward and he walked ahead of them. "Feel that, though, what's that?" He began bouncing up and down. "Ground feels strange..." He stopped jumping, looking back at the three to find them looking at him like he was insane. "Just me. Wait...that's weird."

"What's weird?"

Rory's question went on answered as Amy huffed, "Doctor, stop trying to distract us, we're in the wrong place." She continued, even as he ran past her to another side of the church. "It's freezing and I'm dressed for Rio! We are not stopping here." As she spoke, he was busy plucking up a bit of grass. "Doctor, you listening to me? It's a graveyard! You promised me a beach."

"Oh, give it up, Amy." Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "Once he's interested in something, he's not gonna leave." She made her way to the Doctor's side, taking a piece of grass from his hand. "What's wrong with it?"

"Blue grass." He mumbled, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "Patches of it all 'round the graveyard." He turned around when Amy and Rory joined them, shoving the grass into his jacket. "So, Earth, 2020-ish, ten years in your future, wrong continent for Rio, I'll admit, but it's not a massive overshoot."

"Why are those people waving at us?" Amy warily eyed two people that were standing on a hill a little ways away. She slapped Rory's hand when he started to wave back.

"Can't be." The Doctor stepped forward, pulling a pair of binoculars from his pocket and using them to get a closer look. "It is!" He lowered the binoculars before putting them up to his eyes again. "It's you two!"

"No." Rory drawled. "We're here. How can we be up there?"

"Ten years in your future, come to relive past glories, I'd imagine. Humans, you're so nostalgic." His eyes widened when Emma snatched the binoculars out of his hands before he could put them away.

"Let me see this." She held the binoculars up, jaw dropping when she saw that it was, in fact, Amy and Rory. "Where am I?" She didn't pay much attention as she handed the binoculars back to the Doctor, slamming them against his chest and making him grunt. "You two dump me in ten years, is that it?"

Rory scoffed, Amy looked like she was about to cry. "We're still together in ten years." She turned to her fiance with worry and confusion clear in her eyes.

"No need to sound so surprised!" He tried to laugh it off, but he was the only one laughing.

"Hey, let's go and talked to them! We can say hi to Future Us! How cool is that?" She grabbed onto his arm and started to drag him away. "Emma, come on!"

"No, I'm not talking to them!" She frowned. "They dumped me."

"Uh, no!" The Doctor was quick to intervene before they could get too far. "Best not, really best not. These things get complicated very quickly, and..." Something else quickly caught his eye. "Oh, look. Big mining thing. Oh, I love a big mining thing. See, way better than Rio! Rio doesn't have a big mining thing."

"Yeah, I'm not really liking the big mining thing." Emma said. "Can we not-"

"Let's go and have a look." He grinned and ran off, not hearing her groan. "Come on, you three, let's see what they're doing!"

She followed him down the steep hill, instantly regretting it when he slowed down slightly, giving her a look. "So, big mining thing?" She tried to sway him back towards something that would keep his mind off of her father, but as he completely halted, she knew it wasn't going to work.

"Emma, I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Oh, lovely, Amy was wrong. This trip isn't going to make you too excited to ask questions."

He shot her a half-hearted glare. "I don't understand why you won't talk to me about it. I don't know what's going on with your father, but I'm not going to judge you-"

"It's not about you judging me, okay? Just...focus on the big mining thing. Go to the big freaking mining thing." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him. That only lasted so long before his hand was on the side of her face, lifting her head up to make her look at him.

"Emma-"

Amy skipped over to them, sighing. "Rory'll catch up, he's just going to put my ring in the TARDIS so it doesn't get _lost_." She rolled her eyes.

"I'll go help him." It was a snap decision, but Emma wanted to get away from the Doctor before he managed to drag her secrets out of her. She tugged out of his grasp and made her way up the hill, ignoring his calls for her to come back. She knew she was being rather immature about everything, but she'd started shoving her feelings down shortly after her father left and didn't want them to resurface more than they had earlier. Plus, she feared that if she let out one secret, all of her others would come out. Including the fact that she left Jeff for Rory because she'd been in love with him for years. Shaking her head to break out of her thoughts, she made her way into the TARDIS, finding Rory placing the engagement ring on the console. "Smart of you. Amy loses everything." She saw him tense for a moment before he turned around.

"Yeah. She does." It was said with practically no emotion and he watched her with thinly veiled anger. She took notice of that quickly and furrowed her brow, walking up the steps to join him at the console.

"Have I done something to upset you? You've been acting weird since I woke up."

"No." He shrugged. "Doesn't matter, anyway."

"Alright." She watched him for a moment longer before she turned to leave.

"Oh, wait, it _does_ matter." He spat and her hand froze on the railing. "How could you honestly be so stupid?"

She hesitated for a moment, jaw clenching before she turned back to face him. "Sorry?"

"Don't even pretend you don't know what this is about. You know, maybe I was actually right when we were in Venice because you know what you did last night? You gave up Jeff for...for this!" He threw his arms out, gesturing to the TARDIS. "This dangerous, _stupid _life that's going to end up with you hurt, or killed, or - or I don't know what!"

"Rory, don't do this again-"

"No!" He didn't notice her flinch when he pointed his finger harshly in her face. "No, _I _am talking! I mean, what is going on with you?" His anger turned to something akin to sympathy and her hand was itching to slap him. "Jeff loved you, he was going to give you a nice, _normal_ life with a picket fence and kids."

"Who said I even wanted that?" As a matter of fact, she did want that, eventually, but she wasn't going to let him win whatever ridiculous argument they were having.

"_You _did! Our whole life, you've been all about marriage and babies! Before Amy even moved here, you and me had a pact that if we were still alone in our twenties, we'd get married." Had they not been fighting, they might have laughed at the memory. "You made me push the pram for your baby dolls."

"Things change-"

"No, the Doctor changed you." He grabbed her hands, pulling them together and lifting them up between them. "I want the old you, Emma. I want to be married to Amy, and I want to live in a house next to you and Jeff, and you and Amy could get pregnant at the same time-"

She tore out of his grasp before he could finish. "I wasn't made to be in your little fantasy, Rory! You can guilt me with all of this, but I'm not going back to Jeff! I didn't leave him just to travel with the Doctor, I left him for..." Her eyes searched his face for a moment. "Something that wasn't what I thought it was." She gave a slightly exasperated sigh when he just stared at her blankly. "Look, I get that you're upset because Amy doesn't want the same life that you do, but even if I did move back, that wouldn't change her. You need to stop attacking the Doctor and me, and talk to her, alright? This is _all her_. So don't put this on the Doctor and don't put it on _me_." She watched him for a moment longer before she started to turn away. "Come find me when you're not being a jerk." She managed to hold back tears long enough to get outside and shut the door before she let her head fall into her hands. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head and made her way down the hill, to the drill site. When she came to it, she found the gate to be unlocked and open. She made her way inside, squeezing through some dark and dirty corridors, ducking every so often to avoid hitting her head on a beam.

"-and blue grass."

She came upon the two just in time to see the Doctor eating some of the grass he'd picked up earlier. "Get that out of your mouth." Her voice was thick with tears, but still commanding, and she jumped when both he and Amy screamed. "Good Lord, it's just me!"

"Oh. Oh, sorry, yes." The Doctor said in relief, spitting the grass out as he did. "See, it's just Emma." He told Amy as if she were the only one who screamed, before he turned to Emma. "It's just..." He trailed off, seeing the tears in her eyes. "Emma. Amy, why don't you go on ahead, we need a moment."

"Okay?" She eyed him warily, but continued down the hallway and left them alone.

"Emma, what's the matter?" He faced her fully, making it so she couldn't squeeze past him and avoid the problem. "Is it to do with your father? You don't have to tell me, I can be patient." He paused. "Well, no, I can't be patient, but I can try. Cross my-"

"It's not about my father. It doesn't really matter, just drop it." She tried to push him out of her way and he grabbed her wrists a bit too tightly. Despite how tight his grip was, she yanked her wrists out of his grasp with only some difficulty. He flinched, expecting her to slap him, hit him, or even stab him, which is why is eyes nearly bugged out of his head when she wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh. Well. This is certainly unexpected, isn't it? Unexpected, but welcome. You know, there's an old saying-"

"Shut up."

He did, hugging her back and pressing his cheek to the top of her head. They stayed like that in silence for only a moment or two before he asked, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?"

She hesitated. "Rory's an arse." That said, she pulled away and began making her way around him. When she stepped into the room at the end of the hallway, she found Amy talking to an older woman.

"And who are you?" She asked, looking at the two girls as if they were insane.

The Doctor stepped in at that moment and pulled out his psychic paper. "Ministry of Drills, Earth, and Science! New Ministry, quite big, just merged, lot of responsibility on our shoulders, don't like to talk about it." He made his way to the monitor the woman was looking at, Amy and Emma close behind. "What're you doing?"

"None of your business." She walked away as he looked at the monitor.

"Where are you getting these readings from?"

"Under the soil."

"The drill's up and running again." A far older man walked into the room, pausing when he saw the newcomers. "What's going on? Who are these people?"

"Amy, Emma, the Doctor." Amy explained quickly. "We're not staying, are we, Doctor?" She hinted, glaring at the Doctor as he toyed with dirt in what seemed to be a hole in the floor.

"Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" His question earned an eye roll from Amy, while Emma came over and ran her hand through the dirt.

"We don't know, it just appeared overnight."

"Maybe someone came here last night and took a sledgehammer to the floor."

Normally, Emma's comment would have made the Doctor shake his head, but seeing that she was feeling good enough to joke, he smiled. His smile soon turned to concern, though, as he registered the woman's answer. "Good. Right." He hopped to his feet, making his way over to the monitor. "You all need to get out of here very fast."

"Why?" She asked.

"What's your name?"

"Nasreen Chaudhry."

"Look at the screens, Nasreen, look at your readings. It's moving."

As the older man joined them and they all spoke, Amy and Emma kneeled by the patch of dirt. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say this is something alien-y." Amy sounded rather dejected, which was odd. "We'll never get to Rio."

"Who knows, maybe the Doctor won't want to stick around." They stared at each other for a moment before they burst into laughter, Emma's sadness and hurt slowly melting away. Their laughter was cut short as steam began to rise from the dirt. "Oh, that can't be good. Doctor?"

"Hmm?" He looked over his shoulder slightly, too focused on the readings.

"Doctor, this steam, is that a good thing?" Amy's question caught his attention, and he turned around quickly.

"Shouldn't think so." He walked over. "It's shifting when it shouldn't be shifting."

"What shouldn't?" Nasreen's question was met with the ground beginning to shake, sending everyone stumbling back.

"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving, but how?" The Doctor ran right back over to the monitor. "Why?"

"Earthquake?" Amy guessed.

"Yeah, that is a _thing_, you know!" Emma snapped, grabbing onto the nearest thing to keep from falling over.

"Doubt it. 'Cause it's only happening under this room." Another hole opened right beneath him and he had to jump back, more holes appearing over several parts of the floor. "It knows we're here. The ground's attacking us."

Nasreen nearly laughed. "No, that's not possible!"

"A lot of impossible things are possible." Emma groaned, moving her feet back as another hole opened up.

"Under the circumstances, I suggest...run!" The Doctor grabbed her and Nasreen's hands and they ran for the door, the older man trying to follow, only for him to sink to his knees in a patch of dirt, Amy turning back to help him. "Stay back, Amy! Stay away from the earth!" He looked down in alarm when Emma tugged her hand out of his grasp. "Emma, no!"

She ignored him, skittering around the holes deftly, as she went to help the man. "Come on!" She reached out for the hand that Amy didn't have and their fingertips just brushed when two holes opened up, one beneath her and one beneath Amy. She managed to stumble back in time, but Amy wasn't as lucky.

"Amy!" The Doctor screamed, running over.

"Emma, Doctor, help me, something's got me!" She gave a yelp and released the man's hand as she was pulled down farther, the dirt going above her knees. "Doctor, the ground's got my legs!" As she sank down to her waist, the Doctor laid flat on his stomach, grabbing both of her hands.

"I've got you."

Meanwhile, Emma and Nasreen managed to pull the man out of the hole he was in. "Get out of here, now! Go shut down the drill, it might be...I don't know, angering it? Just go!" As they ran out of the room, she leaped over to Amy and the Doctor. "Doctor, what's happening?" She asked, grabbing onto one of Amy's hands despite the fact that the Doctor was already holding onto it. All he did was shake his head.

"Don't let go." Amy whispered. "Doctor, what is it, why is it doing this?"

"Stay calm," he released her hand for only a moment, so Emma could grab it and he could wrap his hand around theirs. "keep hold of our hands, don't let go."

"Can you get me out?"

"Amy, try and stay calm. If you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of our hands." Though his face remained relatively calm, there was panic creeping into his tone and Emma bit down on her bottom lip.

"Doctor, we have to get her out. It can't be that hard."

Amy started to sink down farther and her breathing turned quick and sharp, making the two stand. "I'm not going to let you go." However, his hands slipped and he stumbled back. Emma slammed back onto the ground, nearly getting dragged into the dirt as Amy sank even lower. "No!" He grabbed her free hand, forcing her to close it around his jacket while he grabbed onto Amy's wrist with both hands.

"Doctor, it's pulling me down, something's pulling me!"

"Stay calm. Hold on, if they can just..._shut down the drill_."

"I can't hold on!"

"Yes, you can, Amelia Pond." Emma ground out, pulling on her friend's hand with all her might. "You're my best friend. You've held on, no matter what. You've forced me to hold on, no matter what. Don't you dare stop now."

"I can't." She whimpered. "I can't do it. Doctor, what's pulling me? What is under the earth? I don't want to suffocate under there."

"Amy, concentrate! Don't you give up!"

"Tell Rory..." It was all she could get out, tears in her eyes, before she was swallowed by the earth.

"Amy!" The Doctor yelled as her hand slipped from his grip. "No, no! No, no, no!" He struggled to grab a hold of her again, but her hand disappeared from sight and he began digging through the dirt. "No! No!" His voice was beginning to get hoarse from the screaming and he gave up on digging, whispering, "No, no, no."

Emma watched him as he slammed his palms onto the ground, practically sobbing as she held a hand over her mouth. There was rage in his eyes as he desperately used his sonic on the earth, but the rage soon turned to complete devastation. "Doctor?" Her voice trembled and she stood, putting a hand to his shoulder. "We can get her back, can't we? It's just dirt, we can...we can dig and..." She trailed off as his chin quivered and he shook his head.

Nasreen and the man ran back in, the former asking softly, "Where is she?"

"She's gone." The Doctor grabbed onto Emma's hand as soon as it slipped away from his shoulder. "The ground took her."

* * *

**A/N - I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Writer's block is rude :/ Sorry! But, alas, do I sense Emma falling just a **_**little **_**out of love with Rory? Hmm...**


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